In my son’s special education high school class, the teacher spent a lot of time preparing the teenage students who have a variety of special needs, from autism to intellectual disabilities, on how to be as independent as possible, a major goal of the program.

On a sunny July afternoon in 1990, on the West Lawn of the White House, Republican President George H.W. Bush signed into law the landmark Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), the nation’s first comprehensive civil rights law addressing the needs of people with disabilities, prohibiting discrimination in employment, public services, public accommodations and telecommunications.

Disabled people are almost invisible on television.