This document contains a survey about compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in communities. It asks respondents to provide information about themselves and to grade their community's efforts in various areas of ADA compliance, from employment opportunities to accessible websites. It also asks what three areas the community should focus on improving in the next five years. The goal is to understand how well communities are implementing the ADA and identify areas for future work.

1. MICHIGAN: The ADA in Your Community
You are invited to complete this survey about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The
purpose of this survey is to ask people with disabilities, family members, and people in the
disability field to share their thoughts about the ADA and to grade their community’s efforts
in following the law. The results will help us better understand how communities are doing in
complying with the ADA.
The survey should take you about 15 minutes to complete. You will be one of approximately
2000-3000 people that we hope will complete this survey. Your answers will be anonymous.
This means that we will not give out any information that identifies you. Your answers will be
combined with others for all reports. Your participation in this survey is completely voluntary,
and you may stop answering at any time.
When you are finished, mail or fax this form to the address on the last page.
Or, if you wish, you can answer the questions online at our secure site:
www.theADASurvey.org
If you wish an alternative format or have questions about the survey or our procedures,
email Vicki Pappas at beheard@indiana.edu or call 812-855-6508.
1. Choose the ONE that best describes you (this question is required):
 a person with a disability (please also answer Question 1a)
 a parent/family member, or guardian of a person with a disability (please answer
question 1a)
 a person working in the disability field, but without a disability or without a child
with a disability
 someone else
1a. Please check the ONE disability that best describes you or your family member:
 Autism spectrum disorder
 Intellectual disability
 Traumatic brain injury
 Emotional or psychological disability
 Physical or mobility disability
 Neurological disability (such as epilepsy, Tourette’s syndrome, Parkinson’s)
 Blind or other visual impairment
 Deaf or other hearing impairment
 Learning disability (such as ADD/ADHD. dyslexia)
 Chronic health condition (such as diabetes, cancer, COPD)
 Other disability (please specify): ________________________________
2. What state do you live in?
 Michigan
 Other: ____________
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2. 3. How much do you know about the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?
 Not very much at all
 A little knowledgeable about it
 Pretty knowledgeable about it
 Very knowledgeable about it
4. When you want more information about the ADA, where do you usually find it? (Choose
up to 5)
 Michigan State ADA Steering Committee
 Great Lakes ADA Center
 Michigan Developmental Disabilities Council
 Michigan Protection and Advocacy Service
 Developmental Disabilities Institute
 Michigan Commission for Disability Concerns
 A local Center for Independent Living
 A statewide disability advocacy organization
 A service provider in my community
 The Internet or the World Wide Web
 Print publications, newsletters, pamphlets from organizations
 Media sources: newspapers, magazine articles, radio, TV
 A local support group for parents or individuals with disabilities
 Individuals with disabilities
 Family members or friends
 Other (please specify)____________________________________
4a. If you chose the Internet or the World Wide Web, please answer this question
too. In the last six months, which sources of ONLINE ADA information have you
used most frequently? (Choose up to 3)
 National ADA websites (such as EEOC.gov, ADA.gov, JAN, Access Board)
 Email groups about the ADA (such as the Great Lakes list serv or other
disability organization list servs)
 Groups or forums in Google, Yahoo, or AOL
 Social media sites about the ADA like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace
 Wikipedia articles about the ADA
 Emails to and from people knowledgeable about the ADA
 RSS feeds about the ADA
 Other (please specify): _______________________
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3. The following questions are intended to give you an opportunity to "grade" your
community's work in promoting ADA compliance.
Please circle a letter grade between an "A" and "F". If you feel like you can't grade an item,
you can check “No opinion” and move on to the next question.
5. FIRST, how would you grade your community’s OVERALL efforts in complying with the
ADA?
A B C D F No opinion
Now let's grade some specifics:
6. Employment opportunities for people with disabilities:
A B C D F No opinion
7. Providing accommodations for someone to work at a job:
A B C D F No opinion
8. Access to local or county government programs or services (accessible courts, schools,
city parks, events, etc.):
A B C D F No opinion
9. Removal of physical barriers in buildings (such as parking, ramps, doors, bathrooms,
etc.):
A B C D F No opinion
10. Communication supports and alternative formats (such as large print, Braille, and sign
language interpreters, real-time captioning, etc.):
A B C D F No opinion
11. Access to accessible transportation (mainline buses, paratransit, light rail transit,
accessible taxi cabs, etc.):
A B C D F No opinion
12. Educating people with disabilities about their rights and responsibilities under the ADA:
A B C D F No opinion
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4. 13. Educating business people and government officials about their rights and responsibilities
under the ADA:
A B C D F No opinion
14. Attention to accessibility requirements for new construction and renovation:
A B C D F No opinion
15. Education about filing ADA complaints:
A B C D F No opinion
16. Accessible websites (community calendars, government or school news, library, business
sites, etc.):
A B C D F No opinion
17. And last, how would you rate your community’s overall IMPROVEMENT in
implementing the ADA over the past five years? (Circle one):
Very little 1 2 3 4 5 A great deal
18. If you could pick ONLY THREE areas for your community to work on over the next five
years, which three would be your top choices? (Choose up to 3)
 More employment opportunities for people with disabilities
 Providing accommodations for someone to work at a job
 Access to local and county government programs
 Removal of physical barriers in buildings
 Providing communication supports and alternative formats
 Accessible transportation
 Educating people with disabilities about their rights and responsibilities under the
ADA
 Educating business people and government officials about their rights and
responsibilities under the ADA
 Education about filing ADA complaints
 Attention to accessibility requirements for new construction and renovations
 Accessible websites (community calendars, government or school news, library,
business sites, etc.)
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5. 19. Have you ever personally experienced a violation of the ADA?
 Yes (if yes, also answer Question 19a)
 No
 Unsure
 Prefer not to say
19a. In the previous question, you said that you had personally experienced a
violation of the ADA. What did you do about it? (Choose as many as apply)
 Talked directly with the business owner or employer
 Contacted a local official
 Contacted the media – newspaper, radio, TV station
 Asked my service provider for help
 Complained to my friends and family
 Contacted my State's Protection and Advocacy Services
 Contacted my State’s Disability Council
 Contacted my local Center for Independent Living
 Filed a complaint with my local or state Human Rights
Commission/Department
 Filed a federal complaint with the EEOC, the Department of Justice, or
another federal agency
 I took no action
 Other (please specify):____________________________
20. Have you ever provided input about pending ADA legislation or regulations?
 Yes
 No, I was unsure how to do it
 No, I didn't know I could
 No, I didn't
21. Is there anything unique that your community is doing to increase implementation of the
ADA? If so, please describe it in a sentence or two.
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6. The following questions will help us better understand the information people
provided us in this survey.
22. How would you describe where you live?
 Rural area or on a farm
 Small Town (less than 3,000 people)
 Small City (3,000 to 50,000 people)
 Large City (more than 50,000 people)
23. What county do you live in? _________________________________
24. What is your telephone area code? __________
25. What was your TOTAL household income in 2009?
 $15,000 or less
 $15,001 to $25,000
 $25,001 to $35,000
 $35,001 to $50,000
 $50,001 to $75,000
 $75,001 to $100,000
 $100,001 or over
 Prefer not to say
26. How did you find out about this survey?
 I received an email about it
 I saw something about it on a website
 I read something about it in a newsletter
 I read an article about it in my newspaper
 I heard about it on the radio
 My service provider gave me the information about it
 I got the information about it from an organization I belong to
 A family member or friend told me about it
 I got information about it at a training event
 Other (please specify) __________________________
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7. Thank you for participating in the ADA Survey.
Stay tuned for the results early this summer,
in time for the 20th Anniversary of the Signing of the ADA on July 26th.
Return your survey form to:
Dr. Vicki Pappas
Indiana Institute on Disability and Community
2853 East 10th Street
Bloomington, IN 47408
FAX: 812-855-9630
Email: beheard@indiana.edu
If you feel you haven’t been treated according to the descriptions of this survey, you
may contact the Indiana University Human Subjects Committee, Carmichael Center
203, 530 East Kirkwood Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47408. You may also call them at
812-855-3067 or e-mail them at iub_hsc@indiana.edu.
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