For Therese Fitzhugh, seeing the Americans With Disabilities Act become reality in 1990 was an enormous accomplishment that literally opened the doors of opportunity for millions of others who have disabilities.

"No one wanted to listen to us," she recalled of the days when President Lyndon Johnson appointed her to the task force which wrote the Act, and of the 25 years before it was enacted.

Her appointment was no surprise to those who knew her as an outspoken advocate for the rights of those with disabilities. Her own abilities were a bold statement as to the potential of those with disabilities. But it was a surprise that she was the only person with a disability named to the 12-member task force.

Fitzhugh knew only too well the many barriers that the handicapped faced, even though she had accomplished much. She was 12 years old and visiting family members in Oklahoma when she became ill. It was polio, and when she recovered she had lost the use of her legs.

While society didn't think she could accomplish much, nor even expect her to accomplish anything, she had an attitude about her, she admits. "I was stubborn and had a mother who worked with me," she said. "She believed I could do anything."

"I was referred to ADL (Activities for Daily Living) classes, but I knew the world wasn't going to come to me. I had to go to the world."

Fitzhugh preferred to learn on her own, and with her mother's help and encouragement she became independent.

With a degree in psychology from Southern Illinois University, she developed a career as a consultant in communications. Living in New Jersey she volunteered with the Easter Seals, including planning events to help the able-bodied recognize the needs of the disabled.

"The older I got, the more loud-mouthed I got, so to speak," she muses. "I stood up for what I believed in."

It wasn't a surprise to those who knew of her efforts with Easter Seals and her abilities that President Johnson named her to the 12-member task force to write the Americans With Disabilities Act. When the committee met, she realized "I was the only one who had a disability."

The scope of the ADA had to be broad, she said, to recognize the needs of so many forms of disabilities. Special interest groups had expectations for ADA to address their needs.

"And like is typical, some wanted everything, but I knew we had to take a middle of the road approach ... get inside the door ... compromise." Her approach was to think "we couldn't expect a hotel to make all rooms accessible, but one or two rooms could be accessible."

Special interest groups resisted the cost of the modifications to facilities, but the first priority was to require modifications to public buildings "so that people with disabilities could conduct their business like everyone else." The Act calls for others to make modifications when remodeling occurs.

Always, she said, the eye was on the goal. "We needed to at least get ADA to the public and get a bill signed."

Nearly 20 years after it was signed into law, there are still frustrations. For instance, manufacturers have begun producing toilet seats that are divided, leaving a gap at the front. Many wheelchair bound people have to use a board on which they slide from the wheelchair to the toilet seat. The board can slip into that gap and the person can fall, or a leg can get caught in the gap.