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Monday marks the 20th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act, a far-reaching measure that enacted a series of changes improving public access for people with disabilities and protecting them from discrimination.

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• Conversations: Kareem Dale: Disability aide reflects on ADA’s anniversary
• : Americans with Disabilities Act Anniversary

Kareem Dale is associate director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and a special assistant to President Obama on disability policy, the first such adviser. He is legally blind and uses a cane when he walks.

Dale, a graduate of the University of Illinois law school, met Obama in 1998 when he invited the then-state senator to speak to the school’s Black Law Students Association. He joined Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008 as an adviser on disability policy. He spoke on Friday about the law’s impact on federal policy and the general public.

Q How has ADA helped disabled Americans in the past 20 years?

I think people are very happy with the progress. You have curb cuts now. I’m a beneficiary of the Braille you see on hotel room doors and elevators. There’s better accessible transportation, wheelchair-accessible buses and reasonable accommodations that employers had to provide.

It’s been a sea change in 20 years, but we’re not done. One of the areas, for example, is when you look at technology. When ADA was passed in 1990, the Web wasn’t what it is now and technology wasn’t what it is now. The ADA and the law have to pick up with technology.

Give me an example of how ADA should apply better to technology.

Well, the simplest questions would be, does ADA apply to Web sites? Many courts have said no and maybe a couple have said yes, but it’s been an open question. Our Department of Justice just announced [on Friday] that they plan to issue some proposed rulemaking about ADA applying to Web sites.

Has ADA helped Americans better understand the plight of people with disabilities?

I think it has. I don’t think you have a law like the ADA and see changes like a blind governor in New York [David A. Paterson] — you don’t have those things without public awareness not changing.

Is it where it needs to be? Probably not, but that’s one of the things the president is trying to do, is say, ‘Look, I have people with disabilities working for my administration.’ So he’s trying to lead by example.

What are the Obama administration’s top goals when it comes to disability policy?

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(CBS) Liberals might believe that Glenn Beck has been blind all along, but now the television talk show host says that he is suffering from macular dystrophy and may actually lose his sight.

A couple of weeks ago I went to the doctor because of my eyes, I cant focus my eyes, he said to a Salt Lake City crowd on Saturday. He did all kinds of tests and he said, you have macular dystrophy …you could go blind in the next year. Or, you might not.

The often comedic Beck fired back, Did you just charge me a thousand dollars for knowing what I knew my whole life?

Vitelliform macular dystrophy is a genetic eye disorder which causes vision loss over time by disrupting cells in a small area near the center of the retina which is responsible for sharp central vision. A more aggressive version can strike during childhood. Either form can make it hard to recognize faces, read and drive.

During Saturdays event, Beck quickly turned his medical problems towards a larger platform - his opposition to President Obamas health care reform.

I went to the best doctor I could find, while I could still go to the best doctor I can find, he told the approximately 6,000 people assembled for his American Revival tour.

Lets hope the system doesnt blind side him as he fears.

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