Disability and Aging Discrimination

We live in a society in which the average age of our citizens grows older every day. In part because of natural demographic changes, a series of legal initiatives have produced public policy efforts to address the problems of disability and aging discrimination. The United States legal system has evolved over the last several decades, creating changes in statute and case law jurisprudence to address prejudice and discrimination against the disabled and the elderly. At the same time, the social sciences, and in particular psychology have made great strides in understanding prejudice and discrimination across societal groups including those with disabilities and the elderly (who often suffer from some forms of disability).