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History of Disability Awareness
The dates below are all important dates to disability history. This timeline mainly focuses on three different aspects: 1. all acts and pieces of legislation that played a pivotal role in advocacy for people with disabilities 2. people who played an important role in bringing awareness to people with disabilities 3. groups, organizations, and associations that help people with disabilities.(On a side note please disregard the month and day because they are not correct. The website timetoast requ -
Founding Father
Stephen Hopkins, a man with cerebral palsy, signs the declaration of independence. -
Mental Disorders documented
Dr Benjamin Rush is considered the father of psychiatry published a book entitled Medical Inquires and observations. The book attempts to explain mental disorders. -
Mentally Unchained
Phillipe Pinel, a physician at La Bicetre (asylum in Paris) removes chains from people with mental disabilities. -
First Military Disability Law
an act relieving sick and disabled seamen. -
Jean-Marc Itard
Jean-Marc Itard Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard establishes the principles and methods that we use today. -
Treatise of Insanity
The First Medical Classification of Mental Disorders. Phillipe Pinel writes a four part medical classification for the major mental illnesses: melancholy, dementia, mania without delirium and mania with delirium. -
Braille invents raised alphabet
Louis Braille invents the raised alphabet. It does not become known in the USA until almost 30 years later. -
Cerebral palsy documented
English surgeon named William Little came across a puzzling condition that affected young children. He wrote the first medical descriptions detailing a disorder that caused stiff, spastic muscles in their legs, as well as slightly in their arms. It was more difficult for these children to accomplish tasks that other children found rather easy, such as grasping objects, crawling, and walking. -
Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan:
Helen Keller was blind and deaf. Anne Sullivan worked with her and helped her experience the world in a completely new way. -
Dyslexia
Samuel Orton studies extensively dyslexia. He hypothesizes that it could be a neurological vs. visual. -
California Council of the Blind
Jacobus Tenbrook joins with Dr Newel Perry and others to form the California Council of the Blind, which later becomes National federation of the Blind of California. -
Social Security Act
President Franklin D Rosevelt signed the social security act, which established a program of permanent assistance to adults with disabilities. -
Protests
Adults with disabilities protested the fact that their requests for employment with the Works Progress Administration have been stamped “PH” (Physically handicapped). 300 people staged a 9 day sit it at the home relief bureau of NYC. This event eventually helped thousands of people gain jobs nationwide. -
The ARC
Association for Retarded Citizens. This association works to change the public’s ideas about people with disabilities. Its members educate parents and others, demonstrating to individuals that people with disabilities have the ability to be successful in life. The association works to make sure that all people with disabilities have the services and support they need to grow, develop and live in communities. -
Barrier-free standards
In the 1950’s people with disabilities and veterans with disabilities started the barrier-free movement. These groups fought for better accessible buildings. -
First Accessibility standard published
The American standards association published its first accessibility standard titled, Buildings Accessible to and Usable by the Physically Handicapped. Most states have adopted this legislation. -
Federal Funding
The Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act 1963 passes giving federal funding for disability for infrastructure support. It also set aside money for developing state developmental disabilities councils, protection and advocacy systems and university centers. It was renamed the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act -
Special Olympics
Eunice Kennedy Shriver founds the Special Olympics to provide athletic training for people with intellectual disabilities. This Organization continues to grow today with over a million people with disabilities participating in 23 different sport events. -
No discrimination
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 makes it illegal for federal agencies, public universities, and other public institutions receiving to discriminate on the basis of disability. -
People First
The first convention of People First. This is a national organization of people with developmental disabilities learning to speak for themselves and supporting each other doing so. -
Public Education
The Education for Handicapped Children Act of 1975 guarantees a free appropriate, public education for all children with disabilities in the least restrictive environment. -
National Council on Disability Established
National Council on Disability is an advisory board within the department of education. It purpose is to promote policies, programs, practices, and procedures that guarantee equal opportunity for all people with disabilities, regardless of the nature of severity of the disability and to empower them to achieve economic self-sufficiency, independent living, and inclusion and integration into all aspects of society. -
Americans with Disabilities act becomes Law
The Americans with disabilities act is signed to become a law by President George w Bush. -
American Association of People with Disabilities
Paul Hearne creates a national association to give people with disabilities more consumer power and stronger public voice.
