"In the United States, as throughout the world, there has been a long history of prejudice against persons with disabilities. In his book No Pity, author Joseph P. Shapiro quotes Patrisha Wright of the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund as saying, "All disabled people share one common experience—discrimination." Prejudice and discrimination against persons with disabilities result in a lack of accessibility to economic and educational opportunities, inadequate medical care, and exclusion from social interaction. This lack of accessibility leads to poverty, social isolation, and political powerlessness" ("Disability Prejudice" 193).
