Disability Rights Are Civil Rights

Both Dr. Keisling's presentation and Judith Heumann's Tedx Talk established the importance of learning the history of a culture. By knowing the history of discrimination people with disabilities have faced, I feel like I can have a greater understanding of how far our society has come and how far we have left to go. 

Today's presentation built on the important dates we learned about during the Era Presentations by adding more of the social component. For instance, we had mentioned institutionalization before but seeing documentary clips of the real conditions people were living in was as sobering to me today as I'm sure it must have been for people watching it on television in the late 60's. I also never knew about John F. Kennedy's sister Rosemary. Her story really illustrated how the mindset that people with disabilities had to be "hidden away" was so common that it permeated even the most influential families. 

As a future OT practitioner I hope to use this and further knowledge to keep up with legislation and concerns of people with disabilities so I can be an effective advocate.