TOLEDO, Ohio — Joy Parker knows how to remain committed through some major challenges.
She was born with cerebral palsy, a disability that has forced her to get around in a wheelchair, making her life more difficult in many ways, and often leading people to treat her differently.
"We just want to be treated normally by people, you know. And that it's been a hard road, but it's slowly getting better over time," said Parker.
Parker was a teacher at Owens Community College for twenty years before having to give up her career.
Despite her struggles, Parker says she finds happiness in the little things, such as playing table games in her home, a sign she can still live life on her own terms.
But in the decades before the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed, things were much more difficult.
It wasn't until 1990, when the federal government made discrimination against people with disabilities illegal, that Parker's life really started to turn around.
In the wake of the law's passage, organizations like the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities was created.
The board helped find Parker an ADA-compliant house and get her authorized for aid care.
"I just wasn't physically able to work anymore. So I don't know what I would have done if it wasn't for the board helping me," said Parker.
Nabil Shaheen, Community Outreach & Communications Manager at the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities, says the passage of the ADA was a watershed moment for people who live with disabilities but more needs to be done.
"We've made great, great, great strides, but there's still a lot of work to be done," said Shaheen. "Again, it's just continuing to pick up where these important figures left off with that legislation, and how can we build on that."
On the heels of the 34th anniversary of the ADA, Parker says the law had a life changing effect for people like her bringing a difficult life just a little more joy.
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