TAHLEQUAH — Even before the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act 20 years ago, people began seeing more accommodations made for people with disabilities.

Parking spaces near the doorways of buildings, public and private, were set aside with the familiar handicap logo, and many of those spaces were made larger for vans with wheelchair lifts. Automatic doors enabled easier access, and restrooms were remodeled to provide larger stalls.

Curbs at downtown sidewalks now have slopes at the corners so people using wheelchairs, or those who cannot step up onto a curb, can proceed about their business.

Public facilities have made adjustments for people with disabilities and, with the ADA, private businesses have increasingly made efforts to do so.

In addition, agencies have sprung up or expanded to provide services to people with disabilities. In many cases, they have adapted to educate people who have become disabled sometime during their lives and train them for employment.

“The bottom line is jobs,” said Brenda Fitzgerald, Cherokee Nation program manager and coordinator of vocational rehabilitation.

Her agency helps American Indians with disabilities, while the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services provides assistance to people with all sorts of disabilities in the general population.

The Cherokee Nation program serves members of federally recognized tribes who have a mental or physical disability which creates a substantial impediment to employment. Clients must live within the 14-county boundary of the Cherokee Nation.

“We will have a vocational evaluation done and match their interests and their abilities with current market demands,” Fitzgerald said.

That could involve initial job training, in the case of a young person, or retraining for an older person who needs to switch careers because of a disability.

“It’s college curriculum in most cases,” she said. “Some people don’t want to go to school, so we help them find a job.”

The program informs prospective employers about the advantages they can gain by hiring a worker with a disability. Fitzgerald not only promotes adding a good employee to the payroll, but that the business can take advantage of the Indian tax credit, work opportunity tax credit, welfare-to-work tax credit, and depreciation of special equipment or adaptations to the workplace.

In many cases, new employees receive hands-on job training at their work site. The Cherokee Nation program works with the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services in making the workplace adaptations that are necessary.

Fitzgerald received approval from the Tribal Council Monday night to apply for a five-year grant to extend the program.

“The Cherokee Nation vocational rehab program is the oldest American Indian vocational rehab program in Oklahoma,” she said. It was established in 1992.

“Businesses are looking for good workers and we’re looking for job placement, so it can be a win-win situation,” Fitzgerald said.

Studies estimate that for every dollar spent on vocational rehabilitation, $16 is returned to the economy, she said. Many people who want to further their education in this area choose to do so at Northeastern State University or Indian Capital Technology Center. At NSU, Donna Agee, coordinator of student disability services, helps students with disabilities.

She works with class access, special technological equipment that may be necessary, and housing. NSU has accessible dorm rooms and housing units, and Agee believes more will be needed in the future. Many veterans who have service-connected disabilities are returning from war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan and choosing to take advantage of their GI benefits.

“When we have anyone come to campus, we always emphasize that if they have problems, to let us know,” Agee said. “If a student has mobility issues and is unable to do stairs, we relocate the class to a building which is accessible.”

Most campus buildings, including the venerable Seminary Hall, have been modified to meet accessibility standards, while new construction is built to ADA requirements. The old part of Haskell Hall is one area that is not accessible, and psychology classes in those rooms have been moved when necessary.

Last year NSU officials found one accessibility issue in an unexpected place — the new science building. Although it had a ramp and automatic door, the center portion of that doorway had to be removed during the day so an electric wheelchair could enter.

“It’s things like that we tweak when needed,” Agee said.

Several computer labs have computer programs that assist visually impaired students, or can be used for dyslexic students. There also are computers with assistive technology on the second floor of the John Vaughan Library. Those programs also are available in Agee’s office for use by students doing homework.

She has speaker systems available for students who are hearing impaired. It provides a cordless microphone for the professor and a speaker for the student during classes. NSU has a contract with a software company in Oklahoma City that provides closed captioning and transcription for students as well.

Agee believes her office will become even busier as more veterans return and enroll in college.

She said the university is committed to continue improving its facilities and services to students, professors, and members of the general public with disabilities.

“We have a lot of new construction under way on campus and that is giving us the opportunity to do some upgrades,” she said. “We are in the process of replacing several sections of our sidewalks on campus which did have some major crumbling issues. When you have a campus this old, it’s one of those things you always have to keep on top of.”

Veterans have many programs they can access for education, health care, and other services. American Indian veterans can contact Rogan Noble, Cherokee Nation tribal veterans representative, at the tribal complex for assistance.

Carl Williams, veterans service representative for the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs, is based at the Jack Montgomery VA Medical Center in Muskogee and makes regular trips to posts of local veterans organizations such as the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars.

“If you served your country and you wore that uniform, no matter in war or peacetime, you deserve what’s coming to you,” he said.

Veterans need to present their honorable discharge papers (the local posts can help you get a copy if you’ve lost yours) in order to obtain services.

Williams said while some returning veterans are amputees or have other obvious physical disabilities, many others suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or have other less visible conditions.

“There are people walking around in Walmart, people in our daily lives, perhaps in our families, who are having problems,” he said.

The VA can offer counseling as well as other services.

One local organization began serving disabled area residents nearly a decade before passage of the ADA. The Oklahoma Production Center, a nonprofit organization, offers residential and vocational services to people with disabilities. It stresses quality of life to people with developmental or learning disabilities.

Many local residents are familiar with OPC clients who help them with recycling at the city’s recycling center on Basin Street, who they see picking up trash along highways or performing janitorial services in various buildings around town.

The OPC also handles disposal of waste in Dumpsters at area state parks, and its workers perform diverse tasks at its job center. Rachelle Deer, vocational coordinator, said OPC clients provide activities ranging from quality control to specialized assembly and packaging.

OPC clients are active in Special Olympics, choir, and enjoy participating in dances, picnics, talent shows and other projects.

Fitzgerald credits the advocacy of many of the people whose work led to passage of the ADA with some of the comforts enjoyed today by the everyone, not just people with disabilities.

Mothers who can push a stroller around town have better access when they don’t have to bump babies over curbs, and shoppers with arms full of purchases benefit from automatic doors when exiting the store.

“When you use the remote control on your TV or your automatic garage door opener, you can thank someone with a disability,” she said.