Laura Kirsch, 17, was born three years after the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) became law. "Everything should be so much better" now than before the 1990 legislation, but it's not, she said.

More than half of the millions of working-age Americans with disabilities are unemployed, according to national statistics.

Dozens of people from several states shared stories of frustration, success and hope Aug. 12 at an ILR School event marking the 20th anniversary of the ADA.

Kirsch, a resident of Setaucket, Long Island, attended with professionals in the disabilities and diversity fields, researchers, people with disabilities, state education and human rights officials, and others.

John Robinson, one of the speakers, talked about the four years it took him to get a job in broadcasting after graduating from Syracuse University in 1990. "If I didn't have hope, I wouldn't be standing here," said Robinson, general manager of AXXESS Productions, a public broadcasting business.

The 41-year-old father of three, born without hands, forearms, knees and thighbones, climbs mountains in the Adirondacks north of his Albany home, golfs and travels about every two weeks to tell his story, recounted in a book and television documentary, "Get Off Your Knees."

Robinson talked about learning to get dressed alone, driving a car, rejection by peers and potential employers, encouragement from wife Andrea and his parents, fun with college friends, professional success, and a physical stature that attracts the attention of children: Sometimes, they knock him down.

Robinson said he tries to diffuse the startled awkwardness many people express when meeting him by first telling them he is less than four feet tall. Robinson said it is difficult to look at himself in a mirror, but he does it.

"If I can look at myself ... you can do it, too," he said.

Through speaking engagements around the country during the past two years, Robinson said he hopes to serve as a role model, to show others one can adapt despite extraordinary obstacles.

"I'm happy, comfortable and content with the body I have and the person I am," he said. "Oftentimes, opportunities are disguised as challenges. I ask you to have hope. What you're doing matters."

The event -- Celebrate, Contemplate and Collaborate -- was held at the ILR Conference Center and sponsored by the Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center-Northeast Americans with Disabilities Act Center in ILR's Employment and Disability Institute.

Mary Catt is the ILR School's staff writer.