Disability Rights and History

Study Notes

16% of Americans have a disability.
Down syndrome occurs in 1/723 live births.
Autism is four times more common in boys.
Pre-1970's, many disabilities were considered a personal or family failure.
John F. Kennedy's sister faced ostracism due to her disability.
The disability rights movement borrowed tactics from the Civil Rights movement.
Public transportation accommodations were sought after.
The Americans with Disabilities Act was a significant piece of legislation.
Reasonable accommodations are required by law in schools and workplaces.
Public buildings and schools need accommodations for people with disabilities.
School systems used to create separate schools for disabled students like blind or deaf children.
Teacher and peer willingness to help students with disabilities is valuable and important.
No legal requirement for teachers and peers to help.
Additional funds to assist students.

Cognitive and physical disabilities were viewed differently in the past.
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) were not recognized as formally diagnosed conditions.
Children with disabilities are often at the mercy of teachers and parents.
Location of support affects individuals with disabilities.
Children with Down syndrome and autism were not included in school.
Students were frequently seen as not fitting in school.

SMU had early accommodations for students with disabilities.
Visually impaired students were the first accommodated.
Judy Taylor was one of the first disabled students to attend classes.
She became an activist on disability rights and worked to create accommodations at MSU.
Owen Hall was the first floor that was entirely accessible in 1968.

Homeschooling became more prevalent in the 1960s.
Many parents didn't have role models to follow for supporting their disabled children.
Education was lacking in many school approaches for integrating students.
Parents felt they had to create resources to support their children.

Public schools reduced integration efforts during 1950s to 1970s.
Private schools emerged as an alternative.
Parents became angry about evolution and a lack of religion.
Some parents wanted schools to be more religious.
Parents did not know how to educate their children and resorted to homeschooling.

Exposure to non-deadly viruses exposes the immune system to fight disease in the future.
Edward Jenner discovered how to inoculate people against smallpox.
Vaccines create antibodies to fight specific illnesses.
The 1918 Spanish Flu was a deadly pandemic.
Polio vaccine was developed and spread awareness.
Vaccination lowered illness and school absences.
Low-income children were often impacted by the lack of access to vaccinations.

A deadly shooting occurred in the 1990's.
The shooting impacted the safety of students in school dramatically.
School districts implemented increased security measures as a result of the tragedies.
Safety concerns and security measures were in the forefront of school policy discussions.

There were book bans in the 1920s regarding issues and topics in books.
Parents challenged some books they felt were not appropriate for their children.
A surge of book banning in schools happened.
The Supreme Court has tried to place limitations on parents rights regarding curriculum decisions.
Students were upset about books being removed from the shelves and wanted to read the books.
Parents became concerned about content and lack of clarity about what content could be appropriate.