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Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson proposes to provide education to the poor of Virginia. It was immediately rejected "by the refusal of well-to-do citizens to pay taxes for the education of the poor" -
Institution for Blind Children
Valentin Huay a Frenchman who was living in Paris at the time witnessed a group of blind men being cruelly exhibited at a Paris side show. Huay, known as the “father and apostle of the blind” establishes the Institution for Blind Children to help make life for the blind more 'tolerable'. 1819 Louis Braille entered the school. -
First Military Disability Law
Although depicted thorugh a painting, it would appear that on this date president John Adams signed an act of relief of sick and disabled seamen. -
Mental Disorders Documented
Medical inquiries and observations were published by Dr. Benjamin Rush, considered the father of American psychiatry.This is the first modern attempt to explain mental disorders. -
Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons
American pioneer in the education of the deaf, Thomas H. Gallaudet travels to Europe to learn to teach the deaf. Upon returning he founded the Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons in Hartford, Connecticut. This marks the beginning of efforts in America to educate people with disabilities. -
McLean Asylum for the Insane
The first patient is admitted to the Charlestown branch of the Massachusetts General Hospital, which is later named the McLean Asylum for the Insane in 1892. Now known as the Mclean Hospital, it will become one of the best-known mental health facilities in the country, with services attracting such artists as Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, James Taylor, and Susanna Kaysen. -
Louis Braille
The little blind boy from France who attended the Institue for the Blind in Paris creates the alphabet with a raised point on paper making him the household name that he is today. It took well over 30 yrs before his method became well known and taught in the United States. -
American Psychiatric Association
The Association of Medical Superintendents of American Institutions for the Insane, the precursor to the American Psychiatric Association, is founded. -
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American Civil War
There were 30,000 amputations documented in the Union Army alone during the American Civil War. This event brings disability issues to the American consciousness. -
Funding for Rehabilitation
Resulting from the large numbers of wounded WWI vets returning with disabilitites. Congress passes the first rehabilitation program for soldiers. -
March of Dimes
1921 Franklin Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio which resulted in a total and permanent paralysis from the waste down. When elected president in 1932 he helps found the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, later known as the March of Dimes. He is commerated on the dime for this reason. -
Rehabilitation Medicine
Howard A. Rusk, considered the father of rehabilitation medicine, founds the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine in New York City. Here is where he develops techniques to improve the health of injured veterans from World War II. He mainly focuses on treating the emotional, psychological and social aspects of individuals with disabilities and later became the basis for modern rehabilitation medicine. -
Rehabilitation Medicine
Dr. Howard Rusk, considered to be the founder of rehabilitation medicine, founds the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine in New York City, Here he develops techniques to improve the health of injured veterans from World War II. Rusk focuses mainly on treating the emotional, psychological and social aspects of individuals with disabilities and later became the basis for modern rehabilitation medicine. -
ARC (Association for Retarded Children)
This group was founded by a smal group of parents and concerned individuals. This association works to create a more positive public perception of children with mental retardation and to assert to parents and others the potential of people with mental retardation. The Arc also worked to procure services for children and adults who were denied day care, preschool, education and work programs. -
Special Olmpics founded
Eunice Kennedy Shriver founds the Special Olympics in 1962 to provide athletic training and competition for persons with intellectual disabilities. The organization grows into an international program enabling more than one million young people and adults to participate in 23 Olympic-type sports events each year. The first International Special Olympics Games are held in Chicago, Illinois in 1968. -
The Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act of 1963
The Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act of 1963 passes. Theis act ensures there is money for developing State Developmental Disabilities Councils, Protection and Advocacy Systems, and University Centers. In 1984 it is renamed the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act. -
TTY communication solidified
Two deaf scientist, Dr. James C. Marsters (orthdontist) and Dr. Robert Weitbrecht, experiment with TTY communication. Marsters sends the equipment to Weibrecht and asks him to find a way to attach the TTY to a telphone system. The rest is history. -
Law Guarantees Free, Appropriate, Public Education for All Disabled Children
The Education for Handicapped Children Act of 1975—now called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)signed into law. It guarantees a free, appropriate, public education for all children with disabilities in the least restrictive environment (LRE). -
Fiesta Educativa
Organization for Hispanic Children with Disabilities is formed to address the lack of Spanish-speaking support services to families with disabled children in southern California. -
Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA)
This states that institutions can no longer hold people against their will. It gives the Department of Justice power to sue state or local institutions that violate the rights of people held against their will, including those residing for care or treatment of mental illness. -
The World Program of Action Concerning the Disabled
In 1982 The World Program of Action Concerning the Disabled to encourage full participation and equality for people with disabilities around the world. -
Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988
Passed in 1988, Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act of 1988 increases access to, availability of, and funding for assistive technology through state and national initiatives. -
Americans with Disabilities Act Becomes Law
President George H. W. Bush alongside its "founding father," Justin Dart signed into law The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA is considered the most important civil rights law since Title 504 and has cross-disability support, bringing disability-specific organizations, advocates, and supporters all together for the same cause. -
American Association of People with Disabilities
Paul Hearne, a longtime leader in the disability community, achieves his dream of creating a national association to give people with disabilities more consumer power and a stronger public voice, with the creation of the American Association of People with Disabilities. -
Accessible Computer and Telecomm Equipment
The Telecommunications Act passes and requires that computers, telephones, closed captioning, and many other telecommunication devices and equipment be made accessible. -
Bragdon v. Abbott
This is an important case in regars to HIV/AIDS. It was during this case that the Supreme Court declared persons with HIV/AIDS as disabled. -
Olmstead v. L.C.
U.S. Supreme Court rules that unnecessary institutionalization of people with disabilities constitutes discrimination and violates the ADA. Individuals have a right to receive benefits in the "most integrated setting appropriate to their needs," and that failure to find community-based placements for qualifying people with disabilities is illegal discrimination. -
Genome Project Maps Human DNA Sequence
President Clinton and leading scientists announce the completion of a "rough draft" of the DNA sequence (linked strands of protein, the "building blocks" of life) for human life. While some advocates are encouraged with the hope of finding cures and medical breakthroughs, others fear an end of "disability" altogether. -
First Disability Pride Parade in Chicago
First Parade held in Chicago to continue to help bring awareness to mental and physical disabilities. Projected attendance was 500-600. 2,000 people showed in support. -
History of Disability Rights Enters Curricula
The first bill is introduced requiring that K-12 public school system to be taught the history of the disability rights movement.
