Ellison, who is paralyzed from the neck down, uses a wheelchair and respirator. She said she has trouble using Boston public transportation and often finds local businesses and public facilities unaccommodating.
She said stronger legal standards are needed.
"Due to some failures of the act and its enforcement, I feel like we may be living under the Orwellian stance that all pigs are equal, but some are more equal than others," she said.
Panelist Michael Muehe, executive director of the Cambridge Commission for Persons with Disabilities, said he believes the real abusers of ADA are those who complain about its costs and don't meet its standards.
"I think large institutions like the MBTA are the largest abusers of the ADA," said Muehe, who suffered a spinal cord injury in college and has used a wheelchair since.
"I still experience discrimination every day as I go about the city," he said.