Your original media source for hearing health, disabilities, and wellness

Disabilities

American Abilities Television tells stories of ability and resilience — people with disabilities at school, at work, in service and at home.

Explore our programs, the Americans with Disabilities Act and answers about rights and benefits, together with our hearing health and wellness coverage.

The Americans with Disabilities Act →Questions about rights & benefits →Awareness months →

Disabilities programs on AATV

President John F. Kennedy seated in his rocking chair during the 1962 After Two Years interview, in a public-domain still from the original broadcast

Episode 794

After Two Years: A Conversation with the President

Step back to December 1962 for President Kennedy’s landmark “After Two Years” interview — and hear how his hidden Addison’s disease and the era’s hearing technology set the stage for today’s care.

Illustration of a European navigator offering a parchment map while an Indigenous navigator offers a conch shell and carved star chart, with islands, ocean and night sky between them — two knowledge systems meeting

Episode 793

American Abilities Columbus Day

Explore Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day — the history, differing perspectives, and hearing-health concerns of Indigenous communities.

Hospital staff in white coats and scrubs walking alongside a wounded service member on a gurney down a VA medical center corridor, in a still from the VA documentary From Surviving to Thriving

Episode 789

From Surviving to Thriving: A Journey of Recovery

Episode 789 closes Season 18 with a single documentary from the U.S.

A man doing push-ups on outdoor exercise bars beside a riverfront trail, with cyclists and joggers passing, in a still from the CDC film A National Movement to Reduce Obesity and Tobacco Use

Episode 787

Healthy Communities: Prevention Where We Live

Episode 787 is about making the healthy choice the easier choice.

CDC Public Health Grand Rounds title card reading Beyond the Data, over a health care provider's open hands, in a still from Beyond the Blood Spot: Newborn Screening for Hearing Loss and Critical Congenital Heart Disease

Episode 786

Early Answers: Newborn Screening Saves Lives

Episode 786 is about the first days of life and the answers that come from checking early.

An airman with a Smith name tape and U.S. Air Force uniform speaking in a cyber studio with code graphics behind him, in a still from the U.S. Air Force BLUE series film The Cyber Shield

Episode 785

Above and Beyond: Inside Today's Air Force

Go inside today’s Air Force with BLUE — cyber defenders, missile crews, and fighter pilots — and learn how service members can protect their hearing.

Episode 784

The Brain Explained: ADHD and Mental Health

Explore ADHD and mental-health research, then join Jane the Brain for child-friendly stories about handling stress, frustration, and sadness.

Earth seen through the seven windows of the International Space Station's Cupola observation module, with a solar array in view, in a still from International Space Station: Humanity's Lab in Space

Episode 782

Aboard the Space Station: Loud, Weightless, Remarkable

Episode 782 takes viewers aboard the International Space Station through three NASA productions — and one astronaut ties them together.

CPT Sarah Humphries, a woman in a dark red top, seated for an interview in a home setting, in a still from About PTSD symptoms — AboutFace, VA National Center for PTSD

Episode 781

Understanding PTSD — and the Treatments That Work

Episode 781 is a full half-hour on posttraumatic stress disorder, built entirely from the U.S.

Questions people ask

Is hearing loss a disability?

It can be. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), hearing loss is a disability when it substantially limits a major life activity such as hearing or communicating. That gives you a right to reasonable accommodations at work, school, and in public places, such as captioning or interpreters.

Full answer →

How much do veterans get for hearing loss?

The VA rates hearing loss using two hearing tests: a speech test and a tone test. Many hearing loss ratings are 0%, which pays no monthly money, but a service-connected rating still gives you VA hearing care, including hearing aids.

Full answer →

Do businesses have to provide a sign language interpreter?

Under the ADA, businesses, state and local governments, and hospitals must communicate effectively with people who are deaf or hard of hearing. That can mean a qualified interpreter, captioning, written notes or other aids, depending on the situation.

Full answer →

What are my rights at work if I have hearing loss?

Employers with 15 or more workers cannot treat you unfairly because of hearing loss, and must provide reasonable accommodations unless that would cause undue hardship.

Full answer →

Explore all three topics

Hearing Health Disabilities Wellness