We watched the media surrounding the signing of the ADA on television 25 years ago. My husband and I had followed the efforts being made in Washington, D.C. with great interest as persons with disabilities championed for the passage of this important legislation. It had become personal to our family. Before it became personal we believed that all Americans should have equal rights, but we did not understand all the implications and nuances.

Our daughter Sara Ruh had been born a few years earlier with Down syndrome (DS). She was not diagnosed until she was four months old, which was unusual at the time. I was 28 years old when I got pregnant with Sara and so the doctors did not recommend prenatal testing because there was no history of disabilities in my family.

I do remember that right after Sara was born a strange thought floated through my mind that she looked like a baby with DS. I immediately dismissed this because I did not know what babies with DS looked like and I did not know anyone who had it. Plus I was on pain medication because of the difficult birth.

A few months later, following some tests, a doctor diagnosed Sara as having DS. The doctor called us into the office and gave us the news that changed our lives. He doctor told us that she would be easier to raise than a child with ADHD. He also noted that she might never learn to walk or talk. He sent us to a geneticist and we were told that she might get pregnant at 16 so be careful. These well-meaning doctors were not very helpful. We decided to not listen to their negative comments with information that seemed out of place.

As we sat in the meeting room, hearing the news that our daughter’s path was going to be much different than what we had anticipated, we did not realize that people all over the United States were fighting for the rights of persons with disabilities.

The 25th Anniversary of the ADA is powerful for our family and for people all over the world. The ADA was one of the most powerful civil rights legislations of our time. The United States has accomplished so much during the 25 years of the ADA. Our family is so thankful to the people that fought for Sara and other persons with disabilities.

Sara Ruh did not get pregnant at 16 and she learned to talk and walk. Today she is an artist, a thespian, a dancer, and a motivational speaker. She has spoken all over the world to audiences as large as 5,000 at a time. She has been employed with Nordstrom’s for the last 9 years.

Sara has a good life and she spends a lot of time volunteering and helping other people. Her life matters and she has more options because of the people that fought for her rights and got the ADA passed 25 years ago.

The United Nations promulgated the Convention on the Rights for Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and unfortunately, the United States has yet to ratify it despite the fact that 150+ other countries have done so. There’s a perception that signing the CRPD is unnecessary as we have the ADA. However, in order to incorporate newer benchmarks of accessibility, we need to be part of a global mandate that fosters a culture of inclusion for all citizens, including senior citizens. Disability is not a narrowly defined concept, but a spectrum that is inclusive of all abilities.

Join G3ict and other leaders in helping assure that persons with disabilities have access to ICT, education, employment, and a host of services that go towards making life productive, successful and valuable.

To learn more about Debra Ruh please visit: www.RuhGlobal.com.

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So many people are sad and have lost their ability to find the simple joys in life.  My Mom is one of those people and as she has aged she has become more and more negative and sad.  She has always been the half-empty type person but when we lost my Dad last year her filters went with him.  She struggles seeing the world as a good place and often gets lots in the darkness.

I try to gently remind her of all the joys and wonders all around her.  Instead she tells me that I am in denial about the sad state of the world.  She also thinks that I should lose the Rose Colored Glasses.  I love her and will always be there for her but her view of the world makes me sad.  I see the world as such an amazing place and as I get older want to continue to contribute to the world.

I have been blessed by a happy marriage for over 32 years and we have two grown children – Sara and Kevin.  Our oldest daughter Sara was born with Down syndrome and we named her after my mother.  Everywhere we looked we were told the dark, negative stories associated with raising a child with disabilities.  We decided the experts were wrong and proceeded to prove them wrong.

Our beautiful, loving, joyful and simply amazing daughter has been a great teacher to us.  She lives the great spiritual truths: “stay in the moment”, “see the good in everyone”, and “Life is about Love”.  I also practice these truths but it is truly a walk in faith sometimes.  If our intelligence was measured on how a person lives the greatest spiritual truths – Sara would be a great sage.

Sara’s brother Kevin has also been positively impacted by his sister.  Read his blog “Lessons Learned From my Sister” http://ow.ly/COnrj

Sara has inspired my work and I have spent the last twenty years in the disability field working hard to empower persons with disabilities (PwD).  I have worked with countries all over the world to create programs and policies to include PwD in every aspect of society with an emphasis on the workforce.  I have had the pleasure to work with huge corporations (national and multi-national) to help them understand how to include this segment of the population in their workforce and marketing efforts.  According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 1 in 7 people are impacted with a disability.  In the United States 1 in 3 families are impacted.  Source: NOD

Disability is part of life and we all will experience disabiity in our life times.  As we age more of us are acquiring disabilities.  I have worked hard to shine a different light on disabilities.  Instead of seeing it as a tragedy – we should realize it is part of life.  Obstacles allow us to find our greatest strengths and treasures in life?

My Mom has been a great teacher to me and she has been trying her entire life to manage her mental illness.  Life is tough for her and I try to be authentic with her and love her regardless of her negative view of the world.  I have heard experts say to stay away from negative people but at this time in my Mom’s life she needs me.  So I try to be authentic with her and try not to make her walk more difficult.

I view her negative lens of the world as an inspiration for me to always be grateful and see beauty in all things.  Maybe it is a defense mechanism but I have become a better person because of my Mom.

I also believe we can learn a lot from people like our daughter Sara Ruh.  She inately seems to understand the value of staying in the moment.  Eating when she is hungry, sleeping when she is tired (no matter where she is – smile), and staying 100% in the moment and fully authentic.  She is an amazing soul and I am so blessed to be part of her life.  Both the Sara’s in my world – my Mom and my Daughter have been great teachers and gifts to me.

To learn more about our work, please visit: www.RuhGlobal.com