Treatment of People with Disability Throughout History

755 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on the history of disabilities

People with disabilities were not always treated fairly. Many changes have occurred to change the way we treat and view others that have different abilities. Laws have been created and amended in an effort to enhance the quality of life of people with disabilities. People’s attitudes towards others with disabilities has changed due to litigation which then led to new laws being past in an effort to treat others as equals. Prior to the 1800’s society had fearful thoughts about people with special needs. People believed that people with special needs were demon possessed. Thus people with disabilities were often put to death or abandoned during this time period (S, Truscott, R, Berry, and K, Lee, 2004). During the 1800’s thinking began to change. Institutions were developed to help protect society from people with disabilities (M, Hardman, C, Drew, and M, Egan, 2009). Psychologist and physicians started to experiment with educating children with disabilities; which was the beginning of our current standards (S, Truscott, R, Berry, and K, Lee, 2004). In 1971 litigation was brought forth in Pennsylvania stating that schools must provide a free public education to all school-age children with mental retardation (M, Hardman, C, Drew, and M, Egan, 2009). Then in 1990 the same law is renamed the individuals with Disabilities Educations Act or IDEA (M, Hardman, C, Drew, and M, Egan, 2009). This law is the foundation for which the laws we have today have been based off. Many amendments were to fallow this law to make it what we have today. In 1975 a new law was developed that stated that all people have access to a free and appropriate public education regardless of their disabilities (S, Truscott, R, Berry, and K, Lee, 2004). ... ... middle of paper ... ...M. Winston. Egan. Human Exceptionality: School, Community, and Family. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, 2005. Print. "INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2004 (IDEIA), PL 108-446." Encyclopedia of Special Education: A Reference for the Education of Children, Adolescents, and Adults with Disabilities and Other Exceptional Individuals. N.p.: Wiley, 2007.Credo Reference. 19 Jan. 2010. Web. 12 May 2014. . "Special Education." Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology. N.p.: Elsevier Science & Technology, 2004.Credo Reference. 3 July 2013. Web. 11 May 2014. .

Show More
Related

  • Mara Sapon-Shevin's Widening The Circle: An Analysis

    814 Words  | 2 Pages

    This means that children with all different types of a disability are accessible to public education and learning through professional educators and through their peers. Another important legislation that has been established in 1975 is the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that includes all ages of children and their rights to learn. Both of these movements helped shape what special education is today and assisted in bringing inclusion into the classroom. They both made it possible for students with disabilities to be integrated into general education classrooms, while getting the assistance they need as well.

    Read More

  • How Did Dorothea Dix Treat Children With Disabilities

    467 Words  | 1 Pages

    Individuals with disabilities did not come into mainstream culture until Dorothea Dix. Throughout the mid 1800’s, Dorothea Dix began to advocate for reforming the treatment of people with mental illness and disabilities. She began to tour many institutions where disabled people were living and documented many the cases of abuse and neglect. She then went on to advocate for laws that could improve the conditions and treatment of people with disabilities in hospitals and other facilities, but even this did not totally resolve the condition ("Dorothea Dix Begins to Advocate for Social Reforms in 1841."). The mistreatment of disabled people was rampant throughout the 19th and much of the 20th century. For instance, in 1967, almost 200,000 people with significant disabilities found home in state institutions. Many of these restrictive settings provided only minimal food, clothing, and shelter. Too

    Read More

  • Social Studies: Medieval Times

    948 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hardman, M. L., Drew, C. J., & Egan, M. W. (2011). Human exceptionality: school, community, family (10th ed.). Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

    Read More

  • The Failure of American Public Education

    1374 Words  | 3 Pages

    On January 1st, 1975 public law number 94-142 was The Education for All Handicapped Children Act. This law secured the fundamental ideals, rights and responsibilities to ascertain equal access to public education for all children who are crippled. What education has done in the years it has been around is that it simply makes life one sizably extensive, perplexed system of steps and processes. Our schools don’t accommodate the goal of a true education, but it makes it appear that they are. It would seem that the goal for a true education is for someone to absorb attention, but it is not always right to fill adolescent minds with careless facts or the ways of the world that is decided by a committee. The way that attention is gained for students is to give their own perception on things and have their own notion. From Report of the Massachusetts Board of Education, Horace Mann states that, “education, then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of men, – the balance wheel of the social machinery.” It explicates that the consequentiality of kinds of education, including political, moral, religious, perceptive, and physical are paramount to people and to education.

    Read More

  • IDEA Individuals With Disabilities Education Act

    873 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1991 the Public Law 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was replaced by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This law was passed to provide free and appropriate public education to every child with a disability. It requires that each child with a disability “have access to the program best suited to that child’s special needs which is as close as possible to a normal child’s educational program” (Martin, 1978). The Individualized education program (IEP) was developed to help provide a written record of students’ needs and procedures for each child that receives special education services. The IEP will list all the services to be provided, the student's performance level, academic performance, and modifications in place for the student.

    Read More

  • disabilities in america

    564 Words  | 2 Pages

    On July 26 1990 the American with Disabilities law was enacted This law became the most comprehensive U.S. law addressing the disabled.Society tends to isolate, and segregate individuals with disabilities. The constant discrimination against individuals with disabilities persist. Such critical areas such as; housing,public accommodation,education,communication,and health services.All Existence of unfair and unnecessary discrimination and prejudice will be eliminated. Anyone who denies a person or people an opportunity will compete will be breaking the law. This law enacted that all people with disabilities will be treated the same as everyone else. People with disabilities will not be denied because of their disability. No unnecessary discrimination or prejudice will be taken. This law has made it, so that people with disabilities today can receive tings such as; a house, job, health services,and an education. They do not receive any discrimination in such critical areas such as; housing,public accommodations,education,communication,and health services.

    Read More

  • The Rehabilitation Act of 1973

    1092 Words  | 3 Pages

    Prior to 1975, educational options for a child living with a mental or physical disability were limited. The family of the handicapped child was most likely forced down an path that lead to the institutionalization of the child and distancing the child from the benefits of receiving a free and public education. It was after federal legislation passed the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (42 U.S.C. § 1983) that monumental changes began to develop that allowed a better understanding of the needs and capabilities of people with various handicapping conditions. Soon after this legislation, Public Law 94-142, also known as the Education for all Handicapped Children’s Act of 1975 (EHA) would further increase the public awareness by providing a free appropriate public education (FAPE) for children suffering from disabilities. Following the EHA legislation reformations concerning the education of disabled individuals would soon become numerous and legislative acts were passed enabling accommodations for disabled individuals in the fields of vocations and technology. In 1990, President Gerald Ford signed legislation replacing P.L. 94-142 with the Individual with Disabilities Education Act of 1990 (IDEA, 20 USC 1400). By definition, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a law ensuring services to children with disabilities throughout the nation (US Department of Education, 2011).

    Read More

  • disability

    912 Words  | 2 Pages

    Historically, we have been taught that people with disabilities are different and do not belong among us, because they are incompetent, cannot contribute to society or that they are dangerous. We’re still living with the legacy of people with disabilities being segregated, made invisible, and devalued. The messages about people with disabilities need to be changed. There needs to be more integration of people with disabilities into our culture to balance out the message. Because of our history of abandonment and initialization, fear and stigma impact our choices more than they would if acceptance, community integration, and resources were a bigger part of our history.

    Read More

  • ADA

    1376 Words  | 3 Pages

    In September 1973, President Richard M. Nixon signed into law HR 8070, sponsored by Rep. John Brandemas (D-IN). From a legal perspective, this represented a profound and historic shift in America’s disability policy. With the passage of Section 504 of HR 8070 (named The Rehabilitation Act of 1973), which banned discrimination on the basis of disability, this marked the first time people with disabilities were viewed as a group - a minority group. This Section also provided opportunities for children and adults with disabilities in education and employment and allowed for reasonable accommodations such as special study areas and assistance as needed for students with disabilities.

    Read More

  • Public Law 94-142

    1149 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to LD Online (2015), Public Law 94-142, also known as Education for all Handicapped Children Act (EHA), was passed in 1975. Since then, the law has taken on many changes in order to improve its effectiveness, and is now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA 04). The original Public Law 94-142 guaranteed a free and appropriate public education to each child with a disability from the age 3 to 21 (LD Online, 2015). It is required to make efforts towards improving how children with disabilities are identified and educated, as well as provide evaluations for the success of those efforts. Furthermore, the law provided due process protections

    Read More

  • Discipline and Students with Disabilities

    913 Words  | 2 Pages

    Public Law 94-142: The Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975, now called Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), requires states to provide free, appropriate public education (FAPE) for every child regardless of disability. This federal law was the first to clearly define the rights of disabled children to receive special education services if their disability affects their educational performance. A parent of a special education student also has basic rights under IDEA including the right to have their child evaluated by the school district and to be included when the school district meets about the child or makes decisions about his or her education. If a child is identified as in need of special education services, the school district must devise a written individual education program (IEP) for the child, which includes related services. An IEP is a statement of a student’s special education and related services including speech services, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, counseling and assistive technology and transportation. In addition, this legally binding, individualized plan outlines reasonable educational goals for the student and is reviewed and updated yearly.

    Read More

  • Disability Rights Essay

    1258 Words  | 3 Pages

    Disability: Any person who has a mental or physical deterioration that initially limits one or more major everyday life activities. Millions of people all over the world, are faced with discrimination, the con of being unprotected by the law, and are not able to participate in the human rights everyone is meant to have. For hundreds of years, humans with disabilities are constantly referred to as different, retarded, or weird. They have been stripped of their basic human rights; born free and are equal in dignity and rights, have the right to life, shall not be a victim of torture or cruelty, right to own property, free in opinion and expression, freedom of taking part in government, right in general education, and right of employment opportunities. Once the 20th century

    Read More

  • Raising a Child with a Disability

    729 Words  | 2 Pages

    Children with disabilities are more in the public eye than years ago, although they are still treated differently. Our society treats them differently from lack of education on special needs. The society labels them and make their lives more difficult than it has to be becau...

    Read More

  • Individualized Education Essay

    1719 Words  | 4 Pages

    We must consider that, “there are more than 6.6 million students with disabilities in the United States public school who receive special education services, which means that there are 6.6 million Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) that have been developed, and are being implement at any given time” (Blackwell & Rossetti, 2014). The IEP “is considered a legal document

    Read More

  • Discrimination Against People With Disabilities

    1586 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...eglected social issues in recent history (Barlow). People with disabilities often face societal barriers and disability evokes negative perceptions and discrimination in society. As a result of the stigma associated with disability, persons with disabilities are generally excluded from education, employment, and community life which deprives them of opportunities essential to their social development, health and well-being (Stefan). It is such barriers and discrimination that actually set people apart from society, in many cases making them a burden to the community. The ideas and concepts of equality and full participation for persons with disabilities have been developed very far on paper, but not in reality (Wallace). The government can make numerous laws against discrimination, but this does not change the way that people with disabilities are judged in society.

    Read More

More about Treatment of People with Disability Throughout History

Open Document