[Nfbf-l] PERSECUTION AND LIBERATION:
Sherri
flmom2006 at gmail.com
Mon Jul 8 21:39:04 UTC 2013
I got this from our county ADA coordinator and found it very interesting.
Sherri
PERSECUTION AND LIBERATION:
TIMELINE OF DISABILITIES HISTORY
3500 - 1800 BC The Rig-Veda is an ancient Indian poem thought to
be the first written record of a prosthesis being used.
400 BC Hippocrates identifies epilepsy as a disease,
rather than a curse
355 BC Aristotle states those "born deaf become
senseless and incapable of reason"
218 BC Marus Sergius, a Roman general, is fitted
with iron prosthesis for his right arm lost in battle
1500s Persons with disabilities were often
ridiculed as court fools
1500 Girolamo Cardano (1509 - 1576) is the first
physician to recognize the ability of the deaf to reason
1508 Gotz von Berlichingen has two prosthetic
hands made with adaptable joints for greater mobility and function
1575 Lasso, a Spanish lawyer concludes that those
who learn to speak are no longer dumb and should have the right to have
children
1601 Poor laws are enacted in Britain to provide
support for poor and disabled persons
1616 Giovanni Bonifacio publishes a treatise
discussing sign language, "Of the Art of Signs"
1696 Pieter Andriannszoon Verduyn, a Dutch
surgeon, creates the first non-locking below the knee prosthesis
1751 The Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia is
the first to have a special section to treat mental disabilities
1755 Samuel Heinicke establishes the first oral
school for the deaf in Germany and Charles Michel Abbe del Epee establishes
the first free school for the deaf in France
1776 Stephen Hopkins, a man with cerebral palsy,
is one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence often saying, "my
hands may tremble, my heart does not."
1784 The first school for students who are blind
is opened in Paris
1793 Psychiatric hospitals in Europe and the U.S.
charge admission for the public to view patients for entertainment
Philippe Pinel unshackles patients at La
Bicetre asylum in Paris
1805 Benjamin Rush's Medical Inquiries and
Observations is the first modern attempt to explain mental disorders
1815 - 1817 Thomas Gallaudet establishes the first free
American School for the deaf and hearing impaired in West Hartford,
Connecticut
1829 Louis Braille invents a system (raised point
alphabet) for reading and writing for person with visual impairments
1832 The Perkins School for the Blind opens in
Boston, Massachusetts as the first school for the blind in the U.S.
1841 Dorothea Dix advocates for separate
treatment for disabled persons in penitentiaries and poorhouses, leading to
the establishment of 32 state run mental institutions in the U.S.
1846 American Annals of the Deaf begins
publication at the American School for the Deaf in Hartford
1848 The Perkins Institution founded in Boston
(see 1832) was the first residential institution for people with mental
retardation. Over the next century, hundreds of thousands of
developmentally disabled children and adults were institutionalized and many
for the rest of their lives
1852 Isaac Hunt publishes Astounding Disclosures!
Three Years in a Mad House on the unjust incarceration and abuse of persons
with mental illness by doctors and staff in asylums
1864 Columbia Institution for the Deaf and Dumb
and Blind was authorized by the U.S. Congress to grant college degrees. It
was the first college in the world established for people with disabilities
The Natural Deaf-Mute College (later
Gallaudet University) opens in Washington, D.C., providing post secondary
education for deaf and hard of hearing students
1865 The American-Civil War (1861-65) sees 30,000
amputations in the Union Army alone
1869 The first wheelchair patent is registered
with the U.S. patent office
1871 P.T. Barnum opens, The Greatest Show on
Earth, where people with disabilities are portrayed as freaks or human
oddities
1872 Alexander Graham Bell opens a speech school
for teachers of the deaf in Boston
1883 The term, eugenics, is coined by Sir Francis
Galton (cousin to Charles Darwin) - the philosophy of directing human
evolution was supported by many prominent people and institutions. The
eugenics movement passed laws to prevent people with disabilities from
moving to the U.S. marrying or having children. Eugenics laws led to the
institutionalized and forced sterilization of disabled adults and children.
1887 Women were first admitted to the National
Deaf-Mute College
Anne Mansfield Sullivan begins working
with Helen Keller
1892 The braille typewriter is invited
1907 Maria Montessori opens her House of Children
and develops a successful program for educating children with learning
disabilities
1916 English braille becomes the English language
standard due to the large amount of materials available
1918 Smith-Sears Veterans Rehab Act provided for
the promotion of vocational rehabilitation and return to civil employment of
disabled persons discharged from U.S. military
1920 Smith-Fess Act extends benefits to civilians
with disabilities under a temporary law (four years)
1921 The American Foundation for the Blind was
established
1924 Commonwealth of Virginia passed a state law
that allowed for sterilization (without consent
) of individuals found to be feebleminded, insane, depressed, mentally
handicapped, epileptic and other disorders. Alcoholics, criminals and drug
addicts were also sterilized
1927 Buck vs Bell Supreme Court decision ruled
that forced sterilization of people with disabilities was not a violation of
their constitutional rights. This decision removed all restraints for
eugenicists. By 1970, over 60,000 disabled people were sterilized without
their consent
Justice Oliver Wendell Homes equated
sterilization to vaccination. Nationally, 27 states began wholesale
sterilization of undesirables
1932 President Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected
president of the U.S. Throughout his presidency he tried to hide his
disability (polio) from the population
1935 The Social Security Act was passed. This
established federally funded old age benefits and funds to states for
assistance to blind individuals and disabled children. The act also
extended, the Vocational Rehabilitation Act and made it permanent by a
provision in the Social Security Act.
1939 World War II began. Hitler ordered
widespread mercy killing of the sick and disabled.
1941 Hitler suspended the Aktion T4 (gas
killings) program that killed nearly one hundred thousand people.
Euthanasia continued through the use of drugs and starvation instead of
gassings.
Rosemary Kennedy (sister of President Kennedy) is lobotomized and sustains a
severe mental disability and is institutionalized until her death in 2005.
Years after the lobotomy it was determined from her health records, that she
had depression and did not have mental retardation which her father thought
was the reason she would be short tempered.
1943 The LaFollette-Barden Vocational
Rehabilitation Act added physical rehabilitation to the goals of federally
funding vocational rehab programs and provided funding for certain health
care services.
Autism is first classified by Dr. Leo
Kanner of Johns Hopkins University
1945 President Harry Truman signed PL-176
creating an annual National Employ the Handicapped Week to raise awareness
of the possibilities for employing the physically handicapped
1947 The Paralyzed Veterans of America was
organized
1948 The National ParaplegIa Foundation was
founded by members of the Paralyzed Veterans of America as the civilian arm
of their growing movement
University of Illinois at Galesburg disabled students' program was
officially founded. The program moved to the campus at Urbana-Champaign
where it became a prototype for disabled student programs and independent
living centers across the country
1950 - 1960s, Civil Rights Movement
Self Help Movement
Deinstitutionalization Movement
Consumerism Movement
1950 Vocational Rehabilitation recognized
independent living as a quality of life issue
Social Security Amendments established a
federal state program to aid permanently and totally disabled persons
1953 Los Angeles County provided at home
attendant care to adults with polio as a cost saving alternative to
hospitalization
1954 President Eisenhower declares National
Retarded Children's Week to raise awareness of the funding and legislation
needed to educate disabled children
The Supreme Court ruled in Brown v Board of Education (Topeka, Ks) that
separate schools for blacks and white children are unequal and
unconstitutional. This decision became a catalyst for the Civil Rights
Movement
Vocational Rehab Amendments were passed
that authorized federal grants to expand programs available to people with
physical disabilities
Social Security Act was amended by PL 83-761 to include a freeze provision
for workers that were forced by disability to leave the workforce. This
protected their benefits at their pre-disability level
1956 Social Security Amendments of 1956 created
the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program for disabled workers
aged 50 to 64
1958 Social Security Amendments of 1858 extended
social security disability insurance benefits to dependents of disabled
workers
1960 Social Security Amendments of 1960
eliminated the restriction that disabled workers receiving Social Security
Disability Insurance Benefits must be 50 or older
The first Paralympics recognized by the
International Olympic Committee were held in Rome, Italy
1961 The American National Standard Institute,
Inc. (ANSI) published American Standard Specifications for Making Buildings
Accessible to, and Usable by the Physically Handicapped. This landmark
document became the basis for subsequent architectural access codes.
1962 The President's Committee on Employment of
the Physically Handicapped was renamed the President's Committee on
Employment of the Handicapped reflecting increased interest in employment
issues affecting people with cognitive disabilities and mental illness
Edward Roberts sued to gain admission to
the University of California. James Meredith sued to become the first black
person to attend the University of Mississippi.
1963 President Kennedy called for a reduction
over a number of years and by hundreds of thousands of persons confined to
residential institutions and asks that methods be found to retain in and
return to the health programs and strengthen educational and rehab services.
This resulted in deinstitutionalization and increased community services
The Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Health Centers Construction
Act authorized federal grants for the construction of public and private
nonprofit community mental health centers
South Carolina passed the first
statewide architectural access code
1964 The Civil Rights Act was signed by President
Johnson, prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, religion,
ethnicity, national origin and creed (gender and disability were added
later). This act outlawed discrimination on the basis of race in public
accommodations and employment as well as in federally assisted programs
1965 Medicare and Medicaid were established
through passage of the Social Security Amendments of 1965 providing
federally subsidized health care to disabled and elderly Americans covered
by the Social Security program. These amendments changed the definition of
disability under Social Security Disability Insurance Program from long
continued and indefinite duration to expected to last for not less than 12
months
The Vocational Rehab Amendments of 1965 were passed authorizing federal
funds for construction of rehab centers, expansion of existing vocational
rehab programs and the creation of the National Commission on Architectural
Barriers to Rehabilitation of the Handicapped
The National Institute for the Deaf at
the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY was established by
Congress
1968 The Architectural Barriers Act prohibited
architectural barriers in all federally owned or leased buildings
California legislature guaranteed that
the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) would be the first rapid transit system in
the U.S. to accommodate wheelchairs
1970 The Urban Mass Transit Act required all new
mass transit vehicles be equipped with wheelchair lifts. APTA delayed
implementation for 20 years. Regulations were used in 1990
The Rolling Quads was started by Ed
Roberts at UC Berkeley
Disabled in Action was a group started
by Judy Heumann at Long Island University, New York
Developmental Disabilities Serives and Facilities Construction Amendments
were passed which contained the first legal definition of developmental
disabilities. They authorized grants for services and facilities for the
rehabilitation of people with developmental disabilities and state DD
Councils
The Physically Disabled Students Program was founded by Ed Roberts, John
Hessler, Hale Zukas and others at UC Berkeley. Its focus was on community
living, political advocacy, and personal assistance services, it became the
nucleus for the first Center for Independent Living, founded in 1972.
1971 The first legal advocacy center for people
with disabilities was founded at the University of Notre Dame
The U.S. District Court in Alabama decided that people in residential state
schools and institutions have a constitutional right to receive such
individual treatment as would be given to them as a realistic opportunity to
improve his/her mental condition. Disabled people were no longer to be
locked away in custodial institutions without treatment or education
The Fair Labor Standard Act of 1938 was
amended to bring people with disabilities other than blindness into the
sheltered workshop system.
1972 The Rehab Act was passed by Congress and
vetoed by Richard Nixon
The US District Court of Columbia rules
that the District of Columbia could not exclude disabled children from
public schools
The US District Court of Pennsylvania struck down various state laws used to
exclude disabled children from public schools. This lead to the passage of
the 1975 Education for All Handicapped Children Act
Social Security Amendments of 1972 created the Supplemental Security Income
(SSI) program. The law relieved families of the financial responsibility
of caring for their adult disabled children.
The Judge David L. Bazelon Center for
Mental Health Law was founded in Washington, DC
The Legal Action Center in Washington,
DC was founded to advocate for the interests of people with alcohol or drug
dependencies and for HIV/AIDS
Paralyzed Veterans of America, etal filed suit against the
Washington-Metropolitan Transit Authority to incorporate accessibility into
their design for a new multibillion dollar subway system in Washington, DC.
Their victory was a landmark for accessible public mass transit.
Network Against Psychiatric Assault was
organized in San Francisco
Parents sued the Willow Brook State
School in Staten Island, NY for the appalling conditions. Eventually,
hundreds of people were moved into community based living.
Disabled in Action along with thousands
of supporters protested Nixon's veto of the Rehab Act.
The Commonwealth of Virginia ceased its
sterilization program. 8300 individuals never received justice regarding
their sterilizations.
1973 The Rehab Act (Sec 504) was passed,
addressing discrimination based on disability. This would later provide
the outline for the future Americans with Disabilities Act
North Carolina passed a statewide
building code with stringent access requirements, the code became a model
for effective architectural access legislation
1975 The Education for All Handicapped Children
Act was passed, provide for free and appropriate public education,
individualized education plans, due process hearings, and education in the
least restrictive environment possible
1976 An amendment to the Higher Education Act of
1972 passes requiring services to be provided for physically disabled
college students.
The Federal Communications Commission
authorized reserving Line 21 on televisions for closed captioning
1976-1977 Advocates for the disabled opened more and more
CIL, filed suits t require all buses purchased by public transit to receive
federal funds to make them wheelchair accessible, championed for consumer
protection for people with disabilities, disability rights activists
protested successfully in 10 cities for the implementation of the Section
504
1978 The Rehab Act Amendments included
independent living services and focused on least restructure environment
1979 Part B funds created ten new independent
living centers across the U.S.
1980 The Civil Rights Institutionalized Persons
Act is passed allowing the US Department of Justice to file suit on behalf
of residents in institutions
1981-1984 Reagan Administration threatened to amend or
revoke regulations implementing Section 504 of the Rehab Act of 1973 and the
Education for All Handicapped Children intense lobbying and grassroots
campaign generated more than 400,000 cards and letters. After three years,
the Reagan Administration abandoned its attempts to revoke or amend the Act.
Reagan Administration terminated the Social Security benefits of hundreds of
thousands of disabled recipients. Distressed by the action, disabled people
committed suicide, officials on the inside fought these terminations. As a
result, governments were encouraged to sponsor programs bringing people with
disabilities into mainstream, actions were taken to include disabled persons
into the Civil Rights Act.
The Telecommunications for the Disabled Act mandated phones for deaf and
hard of hearing people at public places like hospitals and police stations.
All coin operated be hearing aid compatible.
The National Council of the Handicapped
became an independent agency
The Social Security Disability Reform Act was passed in response to the
complaints of hundreds of thousands of people whose social security
disability benefits were terminated
The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly
and Handicapped Act mandated that polling places be accessible
1985 Mental Illness Bill of Rights Act required
states to provide protection and advocacy services for people with
psychological disabilities
US Supreme Court rules that schools must
pay the expenses of disabled children enrolled in private programs during
litigation under the Education for All Act
US Supreme Court ruled that localities cannot use zoning laws to prohibit
group homes for people with developmental disabilities from opening in a
residential area solely because the results are disabled
1986 Rehab Act Amendments included rehabilitation
engineering and supported employment services
Protection and Advocacy for Mentally Ill
Individuals Act was passed setting up protection and advocacy.
1987 Justin Dart, Commissioner of the Rehab
Services Administration, was forced to resign after he testified to Congress
than an inflexible federal system contains a significant number of
individuals yet to overcome obsolete, paternalistic attitudes toward
disability
1988 Civil Rights Restoration Act specifies that
an institution that receives federal assistance is prohibited from
discriminating.in a program or activity which does not directly benefit from
such assistance
Congress overturned Ronald Reagan's veto
of the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987
A Congressional taskforce on the rights of people with disabilities was
created by Rep. Major Owens, Justin Dart and Elizabeth Boggs. It began
building grassroots support for the passage of the Americans with
Disabilities Act
1990 President George W Bush signed the Americans
with Disabilities Act - the act provides comprehensive rights protection for
people with disabilities closely modeled after the Civil Rights Act and
Section 504 was the most sweeping disability rights legislation in history.
American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT) drew hundreds of
disabled people to support the ADA. Activists occupied the Capitol Rotunda
and were arrested when they refused to leave
The Committee of Ten Thousand was
founded to advocate for people with hemophilia who were infected by HIV/AIDS
donors
Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resource
Emergency Act was passed to help communities cope with the HIV epidemic
ADAPT changes its focus to advocating
for personal assistance services
The Education for All Children Act was
amended and named the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
1992 Amendments to the Rehab Act were infused
with the philosophy of independent living
The Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology (FAAST) is
created to provide consumer responsive, technology-related assistance and
services for Floridians with disabilities of all ages.
1996 Congress passed legislation eliminating more
than 150,000 disabled children from social security rolls along with persons
with alcohol and drug dependence
1997 The IDEA includes individuals with brain
injury and autism with procedural safeguards, early intervention, pre-school
services and teaching training
1998 Persian Gulf War Veterans Act was passed
U S Supreme Court decided that under the
Americans with Disabilities Act, the definition of disability include
asymptomatic HIV
1999 The Supreme Court decided that individuals
with disabilities must be offered services in the most integrated setting
The Works Incentives Improvement Act
(Ticket to Work) became law, allowing those who require healthcare benefits
to work
The Supreme Court decided that
individuals whose conditions do not substantially limit any life activity
and are easily correctable are not disabled under the ADA
2001 President Bush signs an executive order
promoting community based alternatives instead of institutional care for
people with disabilities
2002 The Help America Vote Act is passed
regulating voting equipment for equal access
2004 The Assistive Technology Act of 2004 is
passed to assure that individuals with disabilities in every state have
access to the technology they need
2006 Students protest the hiring of the President
at Gallaudet University citing issues such as not being raised using ASL and
the lack of familiarity with the deaf culture
2006 50 State Road to Freedom Tour kicked off and
visited all 50 states carrying the history and photographic exhibit of the
history of the peoples movement and the enactment of the Americans with
Disabilities Act
2008 Florida legislators enacted Disability
History and Awareness Weeks beginning October
2008 The Higher Education Opportunity Act expands
eligibility for Pell Grants and other need based aid for students with
intellectual disabilities
Florida legislature passed autism
research bill to provide insurance funding for this disability
2009 President George H.W. Bush enacts the ADA
Amendments Acts, in which a major life activity also includes the operation
of a major bodily function, including but not limited to, functions of the
immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological,
brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions.
2013 Intellectual Disabilities Bill
signed into law, removing "r" and words mental retardation (State of
Florida)
Protecting Veterans from
Fraud and Scammers (State of Florida)
Exceptional Student
Education Bill providing rights of parents to have an active role in child's
education process (State of Florida)
Independent Living Bill
extending foster care to age 21 for vulnerable youth (State of Florida)
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