The American Disabilities Act became law in 1990. The civil rights law consists of five sections that relate to different areas of life and prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities. The five sections consist of employment accommodations, public services, public and private accommodations, telecommunications, and various miscellaneous provisions. For the sake of completeness, this curriculum unit will focus primarily on public and private accommodations whereas discrimination is prohibited in facilities like hotels, restaurants, retail markets, doctor’s offices, golf courses, private schools, day care centers, health clubs, sports stadiums, and movie theaters, etc.
Human Centered Design of everyday technologies have the ability to assist a disabled individual making activities of daily living easier. The curriculum unit was designed and formatted with the intention to give the student a basic understanding of disabilities and to design a rapid prototype with empathy.
