The ADA defines an individual with a disability as "a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major like activities, a person who has a record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an imapirment." 42 U.S.C. §12102(1).
The ADA does not name all of the impairments covered.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination and ensures equal opportunity for persons with disabilities in employment, state and local government services, public accommodations, commercial facilities, and transportation.
The ADA is divided into five Titles (sections) that cover different areas of life as follows:
Title I Employment - Equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities
Title II State and Local Government - Nondiscrimination on the basis of disability in State and Local Government Services
Title III Public Accommodations - Nondiscrimination on the basis of disability by public accommodations and in commercial facilities
Title IV Telegraphs, Telephones, and Radiotelegraphs - This is found in Title 47 of the United States Code.
Title V Miscellaneous - Provision pertaining to the ADA's relationship with other laws, state immunity, and more. Includes a list of conditions not to be considered as disabilities.
Protections covered by the ADA are enforced by various government agencies. Below is a list of agencies responsible for enforcing Titles I-III of the ADA. Title IV is enforced as it pertains to protections in Titles I-III.
Title I U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Titles II & III U.S. Department of Justice/Attorney General
Title IV Federal Trade Commission with regard to Telecommunications within Title IV.
The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) is codified at 42 U.S.C. §12101, et seq.
Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) at:
28 C.F.R. §35.136, and
See also the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 at 29 U.S.C. §701, et seq.