ADA and Stuttering

This list contains the telephone numbers and Internet addresses of federal agencies and other organizations that provide information about the American With Disabilities Act (ADA) and informal guidance in understanding and complying with different provisions of the ADA.

Department of Justice offers technical assistance on the ADA Standards for Accessible Design and other ADA provisions applying to businesses, non-profit service agencies, and state and local government programs; also provides information on how to file ADA complaints.

ADA Information Line

800-514-0301 (Voice)

800-514-0383 (TTY)

Internet Address

www.ada.gov

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission offers technical assistance on the ADA provisions applying to employment; also provides information on how to file ADA complaints.

Employment - questions

800-669-4000 (Voice)

800-669-6820 (TTY)

Employment – publications

800-669-3362 (Voice)

800-800-3302 (TTY)

Internet Address

www.eeoc.gov

Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration offers information on the public transit provisions of the ADA.

ADA Assistance Line

888-446-4511 (Voice)

TTY: use relay service

Internet Address

www.fta.dot.gov/ada

E-mail Address

FTA.ADAassistance@dot.gov

Federal Communications Commission offers technical assistance on the ADA’s telephone relay service (TRS) requirements.

TRS Publications and Questions

888-225-5322 (Voice)

888-835-5322 (TTY)

Internet Address

www.fcc.gov/cgb/dro

Department of Education funds ten regional centers to provide technical assistance on the ADA.

ADA & IT Technical Assistance Centers

800-949-4232 (Voice/TTY)

Internet Address

www.adata.org

Access Board (or Architectural and transportation Barriers Compliance Board) offers technical assistance on the ADA Accessibility Guidelines.

Publications and Questions

800-872-2253 (Voice)

800-993-2822 (TTY)

Internet Address

www.access-board.gov

ta@access-board.gov

Job Accommodation Network (JAN) is funded by the Department of Labor to provide advice on accommodating employees with disabilities.

Job Accommodation Network

800-526-7234 (Voice)

877-781-9403 (TTY)

Internet Address

www.jan.wvu.edu

ADA INFORMATION WEB SITE LINKS

For a Guide to Disability Rights Laws

http://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm

For ADA Questions and Answers

http://www.ada.gov/q&aeng02.htm

For Designated Investigative Agencies

http://www.ada.gov/investag.htm

For Returning Service Members with Disabilities

http://www.ada.gov/servicemembers_adainfo.html

For ADA Mediation Program

http://www.ada.gov/medprog.htm

ADA Video Gallery

http://www.ada.gov/videogallery.htm

CELEBRITY FOCUS

Bob Love

The late Bob Love dreamt about being a great public speaker since his early days in Bastrop Louisiana, even though, as a young man, he could barely put two words together, let alone speak a full sentence.

In spite of his severe stuttering disability, Bob Love, the son of a sharecropper, rose to become a Chicago Bulls NBA superstar, whose records were eventually surpassed by Michael Jordan. Throughout his entire athletic career, Bob Love kept his stuttering a secret from the fans who adored him, thinking he could do his “talking” on the basketball court.

Jack Paar

While Jack Paar is among the most prominent of the entertainers on the Stuttering Foundation’s list of Famous People Who Stutter, he deserves special recognition as he was among the first to openly address his stuttering in public. As host of The Tonight Show from 1957-1962, he spoke of his difficulties as a stuttering child and teenager, giving hope to young people.

Lewis Carroll

The recent Disney version of Lewis Carroll’s classic, Alice in Wonderland, garnered a great deal of media hype. Even though the mainstream media has not made mention that Carroll was a person who stuttered, his family history gives credence to the discovery of the genetic link to stuttering. Carroll was born to parents who were first cousins; almost all of their eleven children, three girls and seven boys, struggled with stuttering past childhood.

King George

In November 2010, worldwide movie audiences were presented with a most interesting and unusual movie release with The King’s Speech, starring Colin Firth as King George VI and Helena Bonham Carter as his wife Elizabeth.

Unfortunately, history may have forgotten the courageous and inspiring story of Prince Albert who stuttered badly and never dreamed that he would ever be king when his older brother, King Edward VIII, abruptly abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee.

Ken Venturi

As much of the nation watches the U.S. Open Golf Championship, it is impossible not to think about our late friend Ken Venturi. Ken overcame many challenges to win the Open at Congressional in 1964 and go on to become the voice of golf for more than three decades.

However, Ken faced no bigger obstacle than stuttering. Ken Venturi was a champion to those who stutter, going out of his way to share his personal experience when consulted by a colleague, friend, or child who stutters.