IndiGo is celebrating 34 years of the Americans with Disabilities Act at the University of Wisconsin-Superior. At the event indiGo and other non-profits could connect with people of all abilities with public services in Superior.

ADA was signed into law on July 26th 1990. Although in that time there are significant changes in technology for people with disabilities.

Leighann Granados, is an independent living and assistive technology specialist with indiGo serving Bayfield, Ashland and Iron Counties. She says there’s new prosthetics capable of fine motor skills like writing with a pen.

“We can 3D print pretty much anything that’s needed now. I know there are companies that actually 3D print robotic hands and prosthetics and stuff like that. So that couldn’t have happened 20 years ago,” Granados said. “Sometimes the cost is astronomical of some of these items and just being able to like with the 3D printing, being able to reproduce this stuff for pennies on the dollar really is going to help. I think everybody should be able to afford the assistive technology that they need.”

While the ADA has only been around for 34 years, the incredible advancements helped people who’ve lost a limb, hard of hearing, or even a different form of disability that they face in their lifetime.

Benjamin Barrett is a chairperson on the Wisconsin Council on Disabilities. He lost part of his arm in an accident 30 years ago. Barret said at the time, the ADA didn’t have the widespread acknowledgement compared to today.

“ADA was brand new when I got hurt. It was three years old. When I got hurt, you could go into our human services building down south here. You could walk around and look. There were no braille placards anywhere. No automatic door openers.” Barrett said. “Oh, next Monday I get my next upgrade. When it was brand new, the inner socket was just as rigid as the element. It’s hard fiberglass. It’s carbon fiber now.”

There are also people who have disabilities that aren’t easy to identify. Reggie Leckel, a resident in Superior says she lost her hearing when she was 12 years old. But she some advice Leckel says is be more aware of people with disabilities.

“First ask the person what kind of help they need and if they need it,” Leckel said. “Because a lot of times we’d like to try to be independent as much as we can, but yes, we do need help sometimes. But also more tolerance.”

For more information about the services provided at indiGo you can read more here. Also for other stories about Disability Services you can read more here.