Out of the Shadows: A Brief History of Disability Rights
The Person-Centered Planning Process has done wonders for me and my ability to function in this current society. I think when people hear the words “PCP,” they think of paperwork and documentation, but it is so much more than that. The Person-Centered Planning Process represents someone's life goals and achievements. Through the Person-Centered Planning Process, an individual with disabilities can get support to help plan the life they want. I currently have a support staff that helps me with both budgeting and organizing my week; and I have noticed the results! This is the ideal future of disability accommodation and inclusion.
Picture for a minute the absence of support systems for the disabled. Imagine how lost some of these individuals would be. If you can imagine this, then you have a good picture of what life was like for those with disabilities over a century ago. Due to my background in History and experience volunteering at the Baltimore County Historical Society, I know that most individuals with disabilities were either kept at home, put into asylums, or placed into almshouses - all of which had terrible conditions. The initial goal of these institutions was to rehabilitate individuals with disabilities, but the methods used such as being chained to the wall were horrific and ignorant.
Research from the Nabb Center at Salisbury University revealed that there were almshouses all over Maryland, including Wicomico County (formerly located 11 miles east of Salisbury). I am certain that I would have been thrown into an almshouse because I did not fit the “normal” mold. I would have been labeled “feeble minded” or an “imbecile” despite the fact that I am college educated.
Circumstances for the disabled improved after the Lunacy Commission, written in 1898, exposed the poor conditions of the almshouses. The Lunacy Commission was the first in a long line of progressive acts, policies and programs throughout the 19th and 20th centuries that made life easier for the disabled. These included improved conditions in asylums, the Social Security Act in 1935 and President Truman's signing of the National Mental Health Act in 1946, Medicaid and Medicare and the Voting Rights Act in 1965, the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 which provided civil rights protection for the disabled, and the 1990 American Education for all Handicapped Act (IDEA). These acts show the march of progress and how far those with disabilities have come from the days where they were thrown into cells and treated like animals.
It's important to reiterate that even though conditions are much better in this day and age, those with disabilities must keep fighting to step out of the dark shadow of their history. They must show the world that they are important enough to stand alongside everyone else and not be relegated to the side-lines. Progress is an ever-moving vehicle and those with disabilities must remain at its helm. They must fight for their voice to be heard and consistent funding for their programs and institutions is essential in order for them to succeed.
