DEC 17 1992

The Honorable Mel Levine

Member, U.S. House of Representatives
5250 West Century Boulevard
Suite 447
Los Angeles, California 90045

Attention: Joan Lerner

Dear Congressman Levine:

This letter is in response to your inquiry on behalf of (b)(6)

xx , concerning the protections afforded by the Americans with
Disabilities Act to persons with memory impairments.

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA")

authorizes the Department of Justice to provide technical
assistance to individuals and entities having rights or
obligations under the Act. This letter provides informal
guidance to assist your constituent in understanding the ADA's
requirements. However, it does not constitute a legal
interpretation, and it is not binding on the Department.

The ADA defines "disability" to include any physical or

mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of an
individual's major life activities, such as walking, seeing,
hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, working, or caring for
oneself. The definition is a broad one, and includes persons
with brain injuries if their injury substantially limits one or
more of their major life activities. Accordingly, such a person
would be entitled to all of the protections of the ADA, including
its general prohibitions against discrimination by both public
and private entities, and the requirement to make reasonable
modifications in policies and procedures where necessary to
provide equal opportunity.

Enclosed are the Department's Title II and Title III

Technical Assistance Manuals and the Department's implementing
regulations for further guidance. A discussion of the definition
of disability may be found on pages 3-5 of the Title II Technical
cc: Records; Chrono; Wodatch; McDowney; Contois; FOIA; MAF.
:udd:contois:cgl:cgl.levine

01-01800

-2-

Assistance Manual and pages 8-10 of the Title III Technical

Assistance Manual, and on pages 35,698-35,700 of the Title II
regulation, and pages 35,548-35,550 of the Title III regulation.
Both of the Technical Assistance Manuals and both of the
regulations provide extended discussions of the ADA's general and
specific prohibitions of discrimination against persons with
disabilities.

I hope this information is useful to you in responding to

your constituent.

Sincerely,

John R. Dunne
Assistant Attorney General
Civil Rights Division

Enclosures (4)
01-01801

7TH DISTRICT CALIFORNIA 132 ILLEGIBLE HOUSE

OFFICE
ILLEGIBLE ILLEGIBLE
TELEPHONE: ILLEGIBLE
COMMITTEE ON ILLEGIBLE
ILLEGIBLE DISTRICT OFFICE:
ILLEGIBLE WEST CENTURY
BOULEVARD
SUITE ILLEGIBLE
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY LOS ANGELES, CA
ILLEGIBLE
SELECT COMMITTEE ON NARCOTICS TELEPHONE
ILLEGIBLE
ABUSE AND CONTROL ILLEGIBLE

CO-CHAIR
HOUSE ILLEGIBLE TASK FORCE

Congress of the United States

House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

TELEFAX COVER SHEET

TO: (Handwritten) John Wodatch

FROM: DISTRICT OFFICE, REPRESENTATIVE MEL LEVINE

CONTACT: (Handwritten) Joan (ILLEGIBLE)

PHONE: (213) 410-9415 FAX: (213) 649-2308

(310)
NUMBER OF PAGES INCLUDING COVER 16
MESSAGE:

October 16, 1992

Dear Mr. Wodatch:

I am faxing the following information and request to you on

behalf of constituent XX , a head injury victim who has
been in touch with this office for many years. I am sending
material at his request XX has requested a letter from Bobby
Silverstein at the Subcommittee on Disability Policy clarifying
the ADA bill on three specific issues. Attached is the letter
that Linda Hinton sent to XX . This letter was not helpful to
(b)(6)xx and Bobby suggested that perhaps you would be the correct
person to address his request. He would like to have a letter
suitable to present to legal representatives or any agencies he
may need to contact in the future for assistance with his memory
impairment including the issue of telecommunication i.e.
transcripts being made available at public forums etc. He has
included letters he received from legal advocates turning him
down for assistance and letters he has written stating needs of
the memory impaired. Bobby had assured him that his needs are
included in the ADA and basically he wants something specific in
lay man's language to point out to agencies that they must adhere
to the ADA and assist him. Anything appropriate you can do for
him would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for taking
time out from your busy schedule to consider this request.
01-01802

EDWARD M. KENNEDY, MASSACHUSETTS, CHAIRMAN

ILLEGIBLE, RHODE ISLAND ILLEGIBLE, UTAH
HOWARD M. ILLEGIBLE, OHIO NANCY LANDOW ILLEGIBLE, KANSAS
CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, CONNECTICUT ILLEGIBLE, VERMONT
ILLEGIBLE, ILLINOIS DAN COATE, INDIANA
TOM ILLEGIBLE, IOWA ILLEGIBLE, SOUTH CAROLINA
ILLEGIBLE, WASHINGTON DAVE ILLEGIBLE, MINNESOTA
ILLEGIBLE, MARYLAND THAD COCHRANE, MISSISSIPPI
JEFF ILLEGIBLE, NEW MEXICO United States Senate
ILLEGIBLE, STAFF DIRECTOR AND CHIEF ILLEGIBLE COMMITTEE
ON LABOR AND
ILLEGIBLE A. IVERSON, MINORITY STAFF DIRECTOR HUMAN
RESOURCES
WASHINGTON, DC 20510-6300

September 25, 1992

(b)(6)
XX
Marina Del Ray, CA 90295

Dear XX ,

Enclosed is a copy of the section of S. 3065, the

Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1992, relating to the Protection
and Advocacy of Individual Rights. I have also included the
report language that explains the rationale for the changes that
are made by this legislation.

S. 3065 addresses the concern that there are individuals

with disabilities who are not served by the current protection
and advocacy system. In addition, S. 3065 reiterates the
principles of the Americans with Disabilities Act in the
findings, purpose, and policy section of the bill. A copy of
this section is also enclosed. This section specifically
addresses your concern that materials be accessible to persons
with disabilities. The values expressed in this section are
repeated throughout S. 3065.

I hope this information is helpful to you. We are currently

in the process of working out the differences between the House
and Senate versions of the bill so that the reauthorization can
be passed before Congress adjourns.

Sincerely,

Linda Hinton
Legislative Assistant
01-01803

December 20, 1990

Rep. Mel Levine

2443 Rayburn HOB
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Congressman Levine,

I am writing to you as a constituent with a mental

impairment. I suffered a brain injury as the result of a violent
crime 5 years ago. I am writing for myself and many others who
suffer the frustration of day to day life with this type of
disability.

I am urging you to contact the committee which will implement

the Americans with Disabilities Act to inform them of our special
needs. Mental impairment is only mentioned one time in the ADA in
section 3(2)A. Our needs must be addressed in all public arenas
where accommodations are required for the other disabled,
hearing impaired, blind and those with ambulatory needs.

There are three major areas of concern: public forum,

education and legal assistance. Written transcripts should be
made available in a timely manner (one week or less). In
addition audio tapes should made available at the end of
each day forum.

In Title II, Section 201,202 Qualified individual with a

disability is defined and it is stated that "no qualified
individual with a disability shall by reason of such disability,
be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of
the services programs or activities of a public entity, or be
subjected to discrimination by any such entity. This definition
provides that no "barrier" shall deter these individuals from
their rights. Tapes and transcripts are remedies for the barriers
of the memory impaired. A liaison should be available at all
public functions to assist the needs of people with my
disability.
 In Title III, section 302(A,B,C,D) Integrated
Settings: Opportunity to participate and Administrative methods

01-01804