Tuesday – 7/28/2015

I was honored to serve as the Keynote Speaker for the celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. It was a fantastic day that I was thrilled to be a part of. I’ve posted a transcript of my speech. There’s also a video of it at the end.

(with Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson)

Keynote Address for the 25th Anniversary of the Americans with Disability Act (Wednesday, July 22, 2015)

“First of all I want to say thank you to the City of Cleveland, University Circle, Mayor Frank Jackson, City Council members, and of course, all the sponsors who helped facilitate this wonderful event. It’s truly an honor to be able to share this day with you.

Six years ago about this time, I found myself lying face down in less than 3 feet of water. I was unable to move. Unable to breathe. Unable to call for help. I was lying in the water, waiting to die. All due to the fact that a moment earlier I dove into a shallow part of a lake and instantly broke my neck at the C3 level.

I woke up in a hospital a few days later and was told by doctors what had happened. That I would now be a quadriplegic for the rest of my life. I would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of my life. I’d be paralyzed. And from that day forward, I would now be called, disabled.

From that day forward, I became one of the millions of Americans, the millions of individuals, grateful for the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Before that fateful day, I hate to say it, but if you would’ve asked me to explain the significance of the ADA, I probably would’ve said something about the fact that it gets people with a disability great parking and really good seating at public events. Obviously, that might be true, but I’ve come to learn that it means so much more than that.

Living in a wheelchair, and living with a disability, has given me a true appreciation of the importance of the ADA. It’s the reason we’re here today celebrating the fact that this bill became law. Living in a wheelchair, has also taught me many, many other things, and helped me learn some very valuable lessons. Three of those lessons I’d like to share with you today. Because I believe they don’t just apply to someone living with a disability, but they apply to everyone.

The first lesson I’ve learned: It All Starts with Right Attitude.

Attitude is everything. Attitude equals altitude. Without the right attitude, it is very difficult to accomplish anything great. Twenty-five years ago, the attitude in this country towards people living with disabilities changed for the better. The ADA was signed into law and the millions of Americans living with a disability now found themselves with greater access to things than they did the day before.

Throughout these past several decades, people with disabilities have continued to enjoy a better quality of life due to some of the changes that are being done. All of this is possible because of the attitude we chose to have towards Americans with disabilities.

The second lesson I’ve learned: Inch by Inch It’s a Cinch, Yard by Yard It’s Awfully Hard.

While we’d all like to do great things and see great things happen right away. It doesn’t just happen. It doesn’t work overnight. Things take time. And sometimes, really great things, take lots of time. But we need to invest the time to further improve several key areas when it comes to The Americans with Disabilities Act. While what has been done has been tremendous, we are far from complete. There is so much more we can accomplish, that we need to accomplish.

Two initiatives in particular I’d like to discuss right now.

The first is access to equal employment. There are not enough quality jobs being offered to people living with a disability. Whether it’s a job in the labor field, a technical job requiring a specific expertise, or some other endeavor, access to more jobs, more high-paying jobs is desperately needed. Some of the most brilliant minds I’ve ever met belong to people who live with a disability. More needs to be done to get these people back to work. We are just as hungry, just as talented, and just as able to contribute to the workplace.

The second area where more work is needed, is when it comes to offering Independent Living Services. Public transportation, access to restaurants, that may be accessible, but accessibility means so much more. People have the right to live as independent a life as they can. Today, there are far too many people stuck in nursing homes, unable to get the resources they need to live a more productive and more fulfilling life.

After my injury, I found myself living in a nursing home, forced to live there for 14 months. I was finally able to transition into private housing due to Independent Living Services. Organizations like, LEAP, which helped me move into my own place, and gave me the confidence to live a much more independent life. Once in my own place, I was able to found an organization entitled, Getting Back Up, a nonprofit that seeks to raise money to help those living with spinal cord injuries. To date, we’ve provided over two dozen individuals with exercise therapy sessions to facilities all around the country, and adaptable products that make their lives and daily routine much easier.

All this possible, because I was able to get the help and resources I needed to get me out of a nursing home and get me back to work. Had I not had access to those resources, I might not have had the opportunity to help improve the lives of others. But my story is just one. There are thousands and thousands of others like me who need assistance. And organizations like LEAP and other centers for independent living need more funding, need more resources, and need your voice to help make this a reality.

More employment opportunities and more funding may sound like big initiatives, and they are. They require a lot of effort, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do it. And that certainly doesn’t mean it’s something that we cannot all contribute to. All of us, as well as our family and friends, need to constantly be in the ear of our congressmen and women, other elected public officials, CEOs of businesses, and any other individual who can help shed light on these issues. Please I implore you, don’t be afraid to make your voice heard.

Because if all of us just contributes just one inch, then those millions of inches will add up to thousands of yards. And more importantly, change will happen.

This brings me to the last lesson I’ve learned: Do Not Let Adversity Define You.

If you look up synonyms for the word disabled, you’d be pretty surprised at what you might find. I’ll tell you a few of them: cursed, deadened, decrepit, inadequate, screwed up, weakened. I don’t know about you, but those are very ugly words to me, and certainly not words I would use to define myself, nor should they be words used to define any of you.

I may have a disability, but I am not disabled. I still have a lot to offer society.

While we cannot control what happens to us, we sure can control how we choose to respond to what happens. I know, just like many of you, that I can still achieve a lot, I just might need to do it from a chair for the time being. But all of us are amazing and unique individuals with so much to offer.

We are not defined by our disability. Last time I checked, it was called the Americans with Disabilities Act, not the Disabled Americans Act.

So as you leave here today, I’d ask you to remember these three things: It Starts with the Right Attitude; Inch by Inch It’s a Cinch, Yard by Yard It’s Awfully Hard; and We Are Not Defined by Our Adversity. Please continue to go out, continue to live your life, work hard towards equal accessibility, lobby the right individuals, and help make this country that’s great, even greater.

God bless you and thank you.”

Stand Strong!

Scott