Joanne R. Pompano
A. Timeline
A TIMELINE OF DISABILITY RIGHTS
1817 - The American School for the Deaf, the first school for disabled children in the
Western Hemisphere, is founded in Hartford, Connecticut
1832 - The Perkins School for the Blind opens in Boston
1841 - Dorothea Dix works on behalf of people with disabilities who are incarcerated in poorhouses and jails
1848 - The first residential intuition for people with mental retardation is established at the Perkins Intuition in Boston
1864 - The first college established for people with disabilities Columbia Intuition for
Deaf and Blind (later re-named Gallaudet College) is authorized to confer degrees
1883 - People with disabilities are prevented from emigrating to the U.S. and from marrying and having children
1902 - Helen Keller, the first deaf-blind person to matriculate at college, publishes her autobiography, The Story of My Life.
1908 - Clifford Beers publishes, A Mind That Found Itself, an expose on the conditions in state and private mental institutions
1918 - The Smith-Sear Veterans Vocational Rehabilitation Act establishes a federal vocational rehabilitation for disabled soldiers.
1920 - The Fess-Smith Civilian Vocational Rehabilitation Act establishes a vocational rehabilitation program for disabled civilians
1927 - The U.S. Supreme Court, in Buck v. Bell, rules that the forced sterilization of people with disabilities is not a violation of their constitutional rights. By the 1970's, approximately 60,000 disabled people are sterilized without consent.
1929 - Seeing Eye establishes the first dog guide school in the United States
1932 - Disabled American Veterans is charted by Congress to represent disabled veterans dealing with the federal government.
1933 - Franklin D. Roosevelt, the first head of state to have a major disability, is sworn into office as president of the U.S. However, he does not acknowledge he has polio.
1935 - The Social Security Act that provides benefits to the elderly and assistance to
States for assistance to blind individuals and disabled children
The League of the Physically Handicapped is formed. The group utilizes picket lines, sit-ins and demonstrations to protest discrimination against people with disabilities by federal relief programs
1936 -The Randolph Sheppard Act establishes a federal program to allow blind individuals to establish vending stands in federal office buildings
1938 - The Fair Labor Standards Act is enacted and leads to a vast increase in the number of sheltered workshops programs for blind workers. Intended to provide training and job opportunities for visually impaired workers, it actually leads to salaries below the minimum wage and to poor working conditions.
1940 -The American Federation of the Physically Handicapped, the nation's first national political organization for individuals with all types of disabilities, is founded to lobby for an end to job discrimination
1944 - The U.S. Army Air Force Convalescent Center begins a rehabilitation program
for disabled airmen and helps to establish rehabilitation medicine as a new medical
specialty
1945 - President Harry Truman signs a resolution calling for the creation of an annual National Employment of the Handicapped
The Blinded Veterans Association is formed in Avon, Connecticut.
1946 - Congress enacts the Hospital Survey and Construction Act, which provides federal grants to states for the construction of hospitals, public health center, and health facilities for rehabilitation of people with disabilities
The National Mental Health Foundation is founded to expose the abusive conditions in institutions and helps push deinstitutionalization.
1947 - Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) is founded
The Presidents Committee on National Employment of the Physically Handicapped Week is held in Washington, D.C. and utilizes radio, television, movie shorts and billboards to emphasize the competence of people with disabilities and to convince employers that its "good business to hire the handicapped."
Harold Russell wins two Academy Awards for his role in, "The Best Years of Our Lives," a movie about a disabled soldier returning from WWII
1948 - The National Paraplegia Foundation is founded by members of the Paralyzed Veterans of America and leads efforts to advocate for disability rights.
We Are Not Alone (WANA), a mental patients' self-help group, is organized
1949 The first Annual Wheelchair Basket ball Tournament is held and The National Foundation for Cerebral Palsy is charted
1950 The Association for Retarded Children and National Foundation for Cerebral
Palsy are founded by parents
Social Security Amendments establish federal / state programs to aid permanently and very disabled individuals
1951 The Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine at New York University Medical Center
Begins work on adaptive aids for people with severe disabilities
1954 Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka rules that the practice
of having separate schools for black and white children is unequal and
unconstitutional. This decision fuels the civil right movement and becomes an
inspiration to the disability rights movement.
Congress passes the Vocational Rehabilitation Amendments, authorizing
Federal grants to expand programs available to people with physical disabilities.
1956 The Social Security Amendments of 1956 creates a Social Security Disability
Insurance program for disabled workers aged 50 to 64.
1958 Congress passes the Social Security Amendments of 1958 to extend Social
Disability Insurance benefits to the dependents of disabled workers.
1960 - The first Paralympics Games are held in Rome, Italy.
1961 The American National Standard Institute, Inc. publishes specifications for
making buildings accessible to physically handicapped individuals
1962 Edward V. Roberts becomes the first severely disabled student at the University
of Berkeley.
1963 President Kennedy calls for a reduction in the number of persons and amount of
time individuals are confined to institutions and calls for allowing them to return
to community living aided by better health and rehabilitation services
The Rolling Quads are formed at Berkeley to advocate for greater access on
Campus and in the surrounding community
1964 The Civil Rights Act outlaws discrimination based on race in public
accommodations and employment and in federally assisted programs. It
becomes the model for subsequent disability rights legislation.
1965 The Social Security Amendments of 1965 establishes Medicare and Medicaid
that provides federally subsidized health care to disabled and elderly Americans.
Covered by the Social Security program
1966 - President Johnson establishes the President's Committee on Mental Retardation.
1968 The Architectural Barriers Act is passed, mandating that federally constructed
Buildings and facilities are accessible to people with physical disabilities.
1971 The U.S. District Court of Alabama rules in Wyatt v. Stickney that people in
residential state schools and institutions have a constitutional right to a realistic
opportunity for treatment and can no longer is locked away without treatment or education.
1972 The Center for Independent Living, the first independent living center, is founded
In Berkeley, California leading to the worldwide independent living movement
The Social Security Amendments of 1972 creates the Supplemental Security
Income (SSI) program that relieves families of the financial responsibility of
Caring for their adult disabled children
1973 Passage of the Federal-Aid Highway Act authorizes federal funds to provide for
construction of curb cuts.
1975 - The Education for All Handicapped Children Act establishes the right of children with disabilities to a public school education in an integrated environment
The act is a cornerstone of federal disability rights legislation
The U.S. Supreme Court, in O'Connor v. Donaldson, rules that people cannot be
institutionalized against their will in a psychiatric hospital unless they are
determined to be a threat to themselves or others
The Americans with Disabilities (ADA) mandates that: 1. local, state and federal
government and programs must be accessible 2. businesses must make
"reasonable accommodations" 3. public accommodations such as stores,
theaters and restaurants must make "reasonable modifications 4. public
transportation and communication must ensure access for disabled persons.
B. Rehabilitation Legislation
The Smith-Fess Act of 1920 was the beginning of the public rehabilitation program for persons with disabilities. Funds were provided for vocational guidance, training, occupational adjustment, prosthetics, and placement services.
The Randolph-Sheppard Act of 1936 provided the persons who were blind the opportunity to be licensed to operate vending stands in federal buildings.
The Vocational Rehabilitation Amendments of 1943 expanded services to include physical restoration and persons with mental retardation and mental illness. The amendment also required states to submit a written state plan to the federal government.
The Vocational Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1954 made major changes to financing provisions. State population and per capita income formulas would now determine funding for state VR agencies. Research and training grants were also added. Extension and improvement, project grants as well as research and demonstration grants were added.
The Vocational Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1965 expanded services to reach a broader population including persons with substance abuse problems and socially handicapping conditions. Economic need no longer is a requirement.
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (the name of the legislation was changed from the Vocational Rehabilitation Act to the Rehabilitation Act) A priority to serve persons with severe disabilities was mandated. Affirmative action programs were established (Title V, Sections 501, 502, 503, and 504.) The establishment of the Individual Written Rehabilitation Program (IWRP) now ensured the enhanced involvement of the consumer in developing a rehabilitation plan of action.
The Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1978 provided the establishment of independent living centers with a focus on peer counseling and guidance.
The Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1986 improved support for rehabilitation engineering and provided clear definitions for rehabilitation engineering services. Support for special projects and demonstrations in supported employment were established.
The 1992 Amendments to the Rehabilitation Act clearly outlined the intent of Congress to ensure consumer choice in career opportunities with a focus on competitive employment.
C. Standards
Considering ESL Standards for Pre-K-12 Students and CMT reading objectives, the following unit objectives will be used:
The students will:
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· become familiar with the political, legal and social activism that fueled the Disability Rights Movement in postwar America
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· review a brief history of disabled individuals
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· identify an important laws and legislation affecting disabled individuals
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· understand the struggles, major events and milestones of the movements
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· research, write, and create a news magazine
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· conduct interviews from interview questions
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· summarize interviews, articles, memoirs to create articles
Skills Development
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· Students will research issues, events, and people dealing with disability issues
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· Students will write articles, reviews or editorials on disability topics
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· Students will record articles, reviews or editorials on disability topics
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· Students will interview individuals in the community or fellow students reporting on topics
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· Students will interview individuals and take notes in order to summarize key concepts
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· Students will summarize an article in newspaper or book
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· Students will locate information appropriate to an assignment in text or
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· reference materials
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· Students will take a position and support it orally or in writing
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· Students will work individually and cooperatively in groups
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· Students will create a news magazine in large print or Braille
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· Students will create a news magazine taped for broadcast or individual use
D. Famous People with Disabilities
Harriet Tubman - Rescuer of Slaves (1820-1913)
Harriet Tubman was a slave who became a rescuer of other slaves. She was a teenager when she was struck in the head while trying to prevent a plantation overseer from whipping a fellow slave. This blow resulted in a lifelong form of epilepsy.
Helen Keller - Deaf/Blind Activist
Helen Keller was born in 1880. She became blind and deaf at the age of nineteen months due to an illness. Her teacher Ann Sullivan taught her to speak using the Tadoma method (touching the lips and throat as others speak) combined with "fingerspelling" (forming alphabetical characters on the palm).
She learned to read in English, French, German, Latin, and Greek using the Braille code. She was the first deaf / blind person to graduate from college when, in 1904, she graduated magna cum laude from Radcliffe College.
She spent her life traveling the world as a famous author and speaker. She was an activist for many causes but was best known as an advocate for people with handicaps.
She founded Helen Keller International, in 1915, a non-profit organization to prevent blindness.
http://www.harriettubman.com/
Franklin Delano Roosevelt - U.S. President (1882-1945)
Franklin Roosevelt served three terms as President of the United States. During that time, he used social programs to help the country deal with the depression and led the U.S. through World War II. FDR could not walk without assistance due to polio. Unfortunately, he felt he had to hide the disability from the American public due to how society viewed disabled persons.
Dorothea Lange - Photographer (1895-1965)
Dorothea Lange was a world famous photographer who traveled the world. She was famous for the numerous photographs she took of the disenfranchised. She developed a limp after to contracting polio at the age of seven. She felt her disability was "one of the most important things that happened to me" because it helped form her way of looking at the world and understanding her humble place in that world.
Judi Chamberlain - Mental Patients' Liberation Activist (1944- )
After entering a state institution due to depression, she discovered she was in a prison-like facility where she had no legal rights. She co-founded a group of psychiatric survivors called the Mental Patients Liberation Front in the 1970's. She published the book, On Our Own: Patient-Controlled Alternatives to the Mental Health System. She received the Distinguished Service Award of the President of the United States from the President's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities in 1992.
Judy Heumann - Assistant Secretary of Education (b. 1947)
She was a teacher who fought the New York City Board of Education for the right to teach. She was one the founders of Disabled in Action, an organization that attempts to help people with disabilities gain protection from civil rights laws. She also was the Deputy Director of the Center for Independent Living. Cofounder of the World Institute on Disability, World Bank Advisor on Disability and Assistant Secretary of Education
Developing a Curriculum for Use with Visually Impaired Students
Individuals are classified as visually impaired or legally blind according to their visual acuity, that is, a person's ability to discriminate fine details. The legal definition of "visual impairment" refers to an individual with a visual acuity of 20/70 in the better eye with the best correction. The legal definition of legally blind refers to an individual with a visual acuity of 20/200 in the better eye with the best correction or a visual field of no more than 20 degrees. In both cases, vision cannot be fully corrected by prescription lenses, optical devices, surgery, or medical treatment.
Most visually impaired and blind children are mainstreamed into regular education classrooms and work along with their sighted peers with the assistance of adapted materials, such as Braille translations of printed materials. It is the responsibly of the teacher of the blind to assist both the student and the classroom teacher in making this a full and rewarding experience. Students are not excluded from a class or activity due to their visual impairment.
There are a number of causes of visual impairments resulting in a wide variety of visual problems. Children can be born blind or become blind because of an accident, illness, or eye condition. Some individuals are very blind while others may see light, shadows, and colors and yet have no useful vision. Depending on their conditions, others may see images that appear blurry, distorted, or incomplete while others are able to read large print but have difficulty traveling without assistance. The majority of visually impaired individuals have at least some useful vision. Therefore, numerous adaptations may aid these persons. The modifications required will depend on the needs of the individual. In some cases, the person may need many accommodations and in some cases, no modifications will be necessary.
Teachers for Blind and Visually Impaired
Teachers certified to teach blind and visually impaired individuals serve as consultants to classroom teachers and help to select appropriate methods and materials. They assist classroom teachers by explaining the types of materials students are able to see and under what conditions. In addition, this specialist deal with instructional problems related to the teaching of specific lessons and concepts. Teacher of the blind also adapt materials and lessons; provide text in Braille and large print; and teach specialized skills (such as the use of computer programs that produce voice output or Braille translations of text.) Teacher of the blind also work directly with student when they teacher Braille and specific skills needed by their students.
In my job as a teacher of the blind and visually impaired individuals, I work with students who have a variety of vision problems. The majority of students have significant optical difficulties including marked reduction in visual acuity, opacity of the lens, lack of pigmentation of the eyes, or restriction of the field of vision. Such problems may result in the need for corrective lenses with marked magnification or the use of large print or Braille translation of textbooks and materials. In addition, it may be necessary for the student to use special equipment such as magnifier or a cane to aid in mobility. All such things call attention to the student and may interfere with their ability to develop academically and socially along with their classmates.
Adaptations to Curriculum
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Typical auxiliary aids, services or accommodations for the blind or visually impaired:
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1. tape recorder or audio translations of text or materials
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2. Braille, large print or audio transcripts of text
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3. tactile marking on equipment
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4. altering examinations, training materials, or policies
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5. supplying devices and equipment including screen readers, Braille embossers, portable electric note takers, scanners, magnifiers or high intensity lamps, and close-circuit televisions (CCTV) that enlarge text
