And let the children soar. Look at me and what ive done and you can do it too. She was winning all the events. An america tonight special, overcoming disabilities. Thanks for joining us. Im joie chen. Millions of americans live with disabilities. Overcoming barriers both physical and social that once seemed insurmountable. But even with those successes, many face obstacles that could be eliminated by a stroke of a pen. An obstacle that forces many to live in poverty. We begin with the story of a remarkable young woman who has helped to lead the fight to allow those who live with disabilities earn and save their own money. Here is america tonights sheila macvicar. From an early age, sarah wolf has been defying expectations. Sarah was born with down syndrome. What do you want people to know about you . Im a good person. I have a good heart. I was thinking maybe we could put it in that thing that you do. Sarah has college credits, works at a law firm, is on several boards of directors, and is a gifted public speaker. We treat sarah, just like any other member of the family. Sarahs father said the family decided from the start not to let sarahs situation work against her. My wife made that commitment. She really did, she worked hard, was very hard. But she got it done. Her mother mothers are pere paimothers persistence paidoff. They basically started the first buddy walk. What is a buddy walk . A buddy walk is set up through the national down syndrome society, to promote awareness for down syndrome and people with disabilities. She expected people to come up and show support. And we had over 800 people that came. Wow i learned i was an advocate for myself and thats when i learned, you know, hmm, if i can do it for myself i can do it for other people. Good afternoon. Im so glad to be here. That year sarah was recognized for her work and along with barbara walters, was recognized by the national down syndrome society. That was my first public speaking engagement before an audience. And i was not nervous. A lot of people would find that experience of standing up in front of a ball room of people completely intimidating. I dont know if people would think they would be intimidated, because if you just go up there and do your thing, and they see you do it, they just you know, so its the coolest feeling to see peoples reaction. How do people react . Just amazing. Like they just, wow, person with down syndrome could speak like that there was never a sense that sarah was unable in any way to did something. She just did it. Hi sarah, how you doing . Pat omalley is sarahs godfather and boss. He offered her a job. She needed something to do. To me it was a natural to have her come down there. Ive been there for 13 years and yes i do drink coffee for 13 years. Thats where i started. Shes not writing briefs but shes filing. She goes from day to day and helps a case manager with complex things. Putting together settlement packages and everything. Today sarah not only works as a law clerk but also in the Advocacy Office of the arc much northeastern pennsylvania. A nonprofiprofit helping peopleh disabilities. Don broderick is the executive director. Shes a very talented young lady and she has a wonderful skill to be able to present to large groups of people, appears to be effortless. But this woman who has worked so hard to overcome limitations is now blocked by limits imposed on her by federal regulations. Sarah canned save more than 2 cant save more than 2,000. She ws lose her disability benefits and her health insurance. So she cannot get a raise or work full time. Sarah like every other developmentally disabled person in the United States is legally obliged to be poor. Good morning. My name is sarah. I am 31 years old. I happen to have down syndrome. Now sarah is on a mission. Im excited to share my story today. Testifying before a Senate Committee hearing in washington, d. C, in july, sarah is close to doing what others could not. This is the fair and right thing to do. Persuading congress to pass legislation to address this long standing disparity for people with disabilities. What did you want those senators to know, the people listening to you . What was the message that you wanted to tell them . I want to tell them that people with disabilities and different kinds of disabilities and people with down syndrome have the right to live on their own. The bill, known as the able act, short for achieving a better life experience, will allow people with disabilities and their families to create tax exempt savings accounts up to 100,000. Sarah weir is at the forefront of the lobbying effort. It really sends a message to society and to our government to congress that people with disabilities in 2014 can work. Specifically like somebody like sarah wolf could work full time take her paycheck and deposit it in this account without making herself ineligible for medicaid. Theres a pin, grothan. It would help people like jerry majeski. At times he would make in excess of the 2,000 thats allowed for people the have. Rather than spending that money down to get to that 2,000 number, this would allow him to put money aside for his future needs when he gets older. It would mean more security for sarah herself. Something had a hit home when she lost her mother, her lifelong inspiration to cancer. What did she do to help you get to the place you are now . Everything. Everything. Helped me with schoolwork, helped me with facts of life, and everything basically. Its hard to talk about my mom. I can really talk about her because it helps me to do better. She was really important . Yeah, very. If this law is pasted, what difference will it if this law is passed, what difference will it make to your sisters life . It will make a huge difference in her life and also my life. One of my fears is with the passing of my mom, it really brings to light just how realistic the future could happen tomorrow in terms of i worry about then the day that my dads not around. You know, and financially, sarah needs to be able to support herself. And its really hard to do that when youre pretty much linked to poverty. Sarah has traveled the country to raise awareness about the realities of living with down syndrome. In april she started a change. Org petition to pass the able act. It went viral and has over 250,000 supporters. The able act has 380 supporters in the house. And 74 in the senate. In july, the house ways and Means Committee passed the bill unanimously. It could become law as early as september. How many people do you think will benefit from this . I think, you know, millions of people with disabilities will benefit from this. The able act allows them to create this tool where they can actually fund their own dreams, aspirations and goals, and make sure that they have and contribute to society in the ways that they wish. I want people to know that im just like you. I could do whatever i put my mind to. When we return, an overlooked corner of childhood. Im stuck. And parents who just want a place where their children can play. Tonight. A remarkable quest continues. Marco polos journey of discovery takes him east, for a historic meeting with kubli kahn, leader of the mongolian empire. Relive this epic odyssey. People encountered. Discoveries made. And now, questions answered. Al Jazeera America presents marco polo a very modern journey. The series continues. Tonight. 9 00 eastern. Now available, the new al jazeea america mobile news app. Get our exclusive in depth, reporting when you want it. A global perspective wherever you are. The major headlines in context. Mashable says. Youll never miss the latest news they will continue looking for survivors. The potential for Energy Production is huge. No noise, no clutter, just real reporting. The new al Jazeera America mobile app, available for your apple and android mobile device. Download it now real reporting that brings you the world. This is a pretty dangerous trip. Security in beirut is tight. More reporters. They dont have the resources to take the fight to al shabaab. More bureaus, more stories. This is where the typhoon came ashore. Giving you a real global perspective like no other can. Al jazeera, nairobi. On the turkeysyria border. Venezuela. Beijing. Kabul. Hong kong. Ukraine. The artic. Real reporting from around the world. This is what we do. Al Jazeera America. Its been called the disabled communitys declaration of independence. The americans with disabilities act, which turns 25 next year. Designed to empower people with disabilities to join in all aspects of Community Life it was a milestone in the fight for equality. A generation later though it is clear that the ada hasnt reached every place it was intended to and thats kept kids with disabilities out of the game. Here is america tonights adam maize. May. Lucas dean loves the playground. But the playground isnt always his best friend. Im stuck. Someone help the fouryearold minnesota boy with spina bifida doesnt have use of his legs and a typical playground like this one can be filled with obstacles. Areas where his wheelchair wont work, play structures he cant use. Wood chips that cut into his hands and legs. Got it . Yeah. Fall down here . Whats frustrating for me, more frustrating for me than him, just watching him watch other kids. Quickly get up and move from one thing to the next. But he doesnt have that luxury. And sometimes hes found like looking up and watching his friends kind of run away. Hell kind of lose his temper a little bit. Highly be shouting after his friends. What might surprise you, this playground in minneapolis is new and meets the minimum standards of the americans with disabilities act or ada. Even though children in wheelchairs like lucas cant easily wheel up to the play structure. Children with other needs like visual impairments or limited mobility dont have many options. Im hiding from you guys so you cant shoot me. What do you think about the americans with disabilities act . Its a great day. Im happy that it exists and i think as a result of it we have seen a lot of growth in the last 25 years but we still have a long way to go. You come with me. A lot of great kids out there, who happen to have some kind of a disability, deserve to have access to the same playgrounds, the same schools, the same opportunities that able bodied kids have. One of the most important i think developmental pieces for kids with disabilities is to have access to children who are developing typically. What happens with children with disabilities who cant play with other kids . It really points out to the child that he or she is different if he or she cant access a playground and it also means they are not exposed to role models who would help them develop their social skills or emotional skills. Thats important for children with special needs. Typically, children get as much or more than children with disabilities. Like what . I think they develop an ability to empathize with people who are different than themselves. They develop an ability to work with individuals who are differently abled. If that person at age 40 is making hiring decisions theyre going to look at somebodys capacities rather than whether they have a disability or not. So i think it sets the stage for development of both children with and without disabilities to make this a much more inclusive world, five years down the road, ten years down the road and decades from now. 1200 miles away from indianapolisminneapolis sits a y apart, brooklyns playground was recently named one of the most inclusive in the world. We knew we should to have the surfacing. It couldnt be any rocks or bark, it had to be solid surface for kids with walkers or wheelchairs. The playground has safety features like ramps instead of stairs. A single entrance to keep children from wandering off and play areas for children with different physical and mental abilities. Whats it like to see brook lynn playing on a playground with children with all abilities . The first time i got real emotional about it is when her school took a field trip here. I saw her with all her best friends play like any other child. She wasnt on a different level, there wasnt anything different about her, they were playing and they dit for hours. What did it for hours. What makes this playground special is it wasnt cheap and pocatello isnt a different area. How much did you have to raise . 575,000. Did you get any state dollars . We got grants from different foundations. The rest of it was grass root fund raisers, lemonade stands. Thousands of families in pocatello donated money and then volunteered to help build it. Theres nothing like this playground for hundreds of miles. Many from across the Rocky Mountain region travel here t. Lessons from the playground have triblgd int triblgd tricklr home. Taking control of the situation, its great to see her not being dependent on us. Confidence. Yes. Its like, mom leave me alone. Ill come get you when im done. School playground is nothing like this so brookelynn will be somewhat greated. Segregated. I think the guidelines need to be rewritten. What is termed accessible really isnt. I dont think it necessarily needs to be on such a large scale maybe as what weve done but there needs to be certain components that are in every playground. Fully inclusive playgrounds are still a rarity and for the roughly 7 million children and youth with Developmental Disabilities far from reality. According to advocates, most inclusive playgrounds are used with private funds raised by families with disabled children. I would argue that parents do have a right to expect access to municipal playgrounds. They pay taxes. Marilyn golden is a disability rights advocate in berkeley, california. She played a key role in realizing the americans with disabilities act. One type of accessibility after another was being dealt with while recreation was being leveled behind to be done last. People would say its more important at a you get to school or to work than you get to the playground or that you can participate in a sport. And that may be true if you really had to pick. But lets hope that we dont. Because recreation is a very important sphere in american life. She says the ada had to strike a balance between the rights of disabled people and the organizations that had to comply with it. We wish that the threshold for providing accessible play equipment was lower. The impact it has on a person particularly a young person growing up to have a sector of life in your society cut off to you, it really is a sends a message that youre not a welcome member of society. What do you wan for lucas . I want lucas to be happy. And he is. And i want him t is. And i want him to do what he wants to do, when he wants to do it. Its pretty simple. Yes, i think it is. But building a playground wont be simple and could take years. Time lost for lucas. Up next what happens when disabled children become disabled adults . Parents are scared to death. The number one question is what will happen to my children or my child after my husband and i die. A mother and son teach parents the art of letting go. A conflict that started 100 year ago, some say, never ended. Revealing. Untold stories of the valor. They opened fire on the english officers. Sacrifice. I order you to die. And ultimate betrayal. Drawing lines in the sand that would shape the middle east and frame the conflict today world war one through arab eyes only on al Jazeera America welcome back, to overcoming disabilities. One of every 88 American Children have been diagnosed with autism. Today those children and their parents are receiving more support than ever before but another challenge looms in the future as those kids grow up. Half a million adults will be living with autism in the next decade, leading parents to wonder what will happen when they can no longer care for their children. A challenge faced by one boy and his mom. They are learning to let go. Thanks for letting us come to your apartment. Youre welcome. 40syearold Brandon Kramer is showing us his small but cozy apartment in santa monica. Its filled with 9 knickknacks,. My chair and my bed and my light and my computer table. Oh nice. This is your Office Almost . Yeah, my office with my ipad and one of his favorite gizmos is this right red button, familiar from a tv commercial. It says it brightens his mood. That was easy. That was easy. Yes and then i have this thing that makes me feel better too. It will be a stress free day today. If you are feeling a little blue, you can go to these things hmm . If i feel blue or out of it and want to get happier, i go to that. He was so tiny, like my mother said, he was like a chicken. Things were not easy for brandon, he was barely five pounds and from the time brandon was a toddler his mother knew he wasnt developing like other children. I noticed his speech or lack of it. Words would come out jumbled, mixed up. I thought though when he was two and a half it would be a really good thing for me to put him in preschool or nursery school. And when i did that the teacher said he wont play with anybody. He just plays on the side by himself. And he does one thing over and over and over again. By the time brandon was 9 he was having seizures. The diagnosis, epilepsy. Back then the doctor urged his mother to keep it secret. But brandon continued to struggle in school. Socially he was awkward. An easy target for bullies. I put him into the public school. Another mistake i made. I mainstreamed him, didnt tell anybody what was wrong and he got beat up ever everyday, almot every single day. Physically . Physically, emotionally. His shoes were taken off, on hot black tar outside in the schoolyard. Bullying . Bullying. As brandon got older the bullying only got worse. He wanted to play basketball like the other kids, he could play basketball but his eyehand coordination was so poor that he had very slow movement and therefore couldnt make a basket, couldnt catch the ball. And the kids were smart, they knew he couldnt catch the ball and they would throw it at his face. He couldnt stop it in time timd he had his nose broken several times. Even after a friend of hers gave her a book on autism did amalia realize that her son was afflicted. I checked every single box was brandon. Every single one. Couldnt make a friend, had difficulty every aspect of autism . Every single one. I remember being so releaf relit saddened at the same time. Support from Public Education typically ends after high school. Most states stop special education at age 18. A few including california provide some support until age 22. Then, the families are on their own. Whats it like for parents of autistic children when that educational support suddenly ends . Parents are scared to death. The number 1 question is, what will happen to my children . Are my child after my husband and i die . And along comes with that is what will