Disability rights movement - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Although the concept of inclusion
Inclusion (disability rights)
Inclusion is a term used by people with disabilities and other disability rights advocates for the idea that all people should freely, openly and without pity accommodate any person with a disability without restrictions or limitations of any kind...

incorporates many of the fundamentals of the ideas present in disability rights, inclusion is a distinct social movement
Social movement
Social movements are a type of group action. They are large informal groupings of individuals or organizations focused on specific political or social issues, in other words, on carrying out, resisting or undoing a social change....

and should not be conflated with disability rights more generally.

The disability rights movement is the movement to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for people with disabilities

Disability

A disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...

. The specific goals and demands of the movement are: accessibility

Accessibility

Accessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is available to as many people as possible. Accessibility can be viewed as the "ability to access" and benefit from some system or entity...

and safety

Safety

Safety is the state of being "safe" , the condition of being protected against physical, social, spiritual, financial, political, emotional, occupational, psychological, educational or other types or consequences of failure, damage, error, accidents, harm or any other event which could be...

in transportation, architecture, and the physical environment, equal opportunities in independent living, employment, education, and housing, and freedom from abuse, neglect, and violations of patients' rights. Effective civil rights legislation is sought in order to secure these opportunities and rights.

For people with physical disabilities accessibility and safety are primary issues that this movement works to reform. Access to public areas such as city streets and public buildings and restrooms are some of the more visible changes brought about in recent decades. A noticeable change in some parts of the world is the installation of elevator

Elevator

An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...

s, automatic doors, wide doors and corridors, transit lifts

Elevator

An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...

, wheelchair ramp

Wheelchair ramp

A wheelchair ramp is an inclined plane installed in addition to or instead of stairs. Ramps permit wheelchair users, as well as people pushing strollers, carts, or other wheeled objects, to more easily access a building....

s, curb cut

Curb cut

A curb cut , curb ramp, dropped kerb , pram ramp, or kerb ramp is a solid ramp graded down from the top surface of a sidewalk to the surface of an adjoining street. It is designed for pedestrian uses and commonly found in urban areas where pedestrian activity is expected...

s, and the elimination of unnecessary steps where ramps and elevators are not available, allowing people in wheelchair

Wheelchair

A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...

s and with other mobility impairments to use public sidewalks and public transit more easily and more safely.

Advocates for the rights of people with developmental disabilities focus their efforts on gaining acceptance in the workforce

Workforce

The workforce is the labour pool in employment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic region like a city, country, state, etc. The term generally excludes the employers or management, and implies those involved in...

and in everyday activities and events from which they might have been excluded in the past. Unlike many of the leaders in the physical disability rights community, self-advocacy

Self-advocacy

Self-advocacy refers to the civil rights movement for people with developmental disabilities, also called cognitive or intellectual disabilities, and other disabilities. It is also an important term in the disability rights movement, referring to people with disabilities taking control of their own...

has been slow in developing for people with developmental disabilities. Public awareness of the civil rights movement for this population remains limited, and the stereotyping of people with developmental disabilities as non-contributing citizens who are dependent on others remains common.

Advocates for the rights of people with mental illnesses focus mainly on self-determination

Self-determination

Self-determination is the principle in international law that nations have the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or external interference...

, and an individual’s ability to live independently.

The right to have an independent life

Independent living

Independent living, as seen by its advocates, is a philosophy, a way of looking at disability and society, and a worldwide movement of people with disabilities working for self-determination, self-respect and equal opportunities...

, using paid assistant care instead of being institutionalized, if the individual wishes, is a major goal of the disability rights movement, and is the main goal of the similar independent living

Independent living

and self-advocacy

Self-advocacy

movements, which are most strongly associated with people with intellectual disabilities and mental health

Mental health

Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...

disorders. These movements have supported people with disabilities to live as more active participants in society.

Access to education

Education

Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

and employment

Employment

Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as:- Employee :...

have also been a major focus of the disability rights movement. Adaptive technologies, enabling people to work jobs they could not have previously, help create access to jobs and economic independence

Independence

Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory....

. Access in the classroom has helped improve education

Education

opportunities and independence for people with disabilities.

Freedom from abuse, neglect, and violations of patients' rights are also important goals of the disability rights movement. Abuse and neglect includes inappropriate seclusion and restraint, inappropriate use of force by staff and/or providers, threats, harassment and/or retaliation by staff or providers, failure to provide adequate nutrition, clothing, and/or medical and mental health care, and/or failure to provide a clean and safe living environment, as well as other issues which pose a serious threat to the physical and psychological well-being of a person with a disability. Violations of patients' rights include failure to obtain informed consent for treatment, failure to maintain the confidentiality of treatment records, and inappropriate restriction of the right to communicate and associate with others, as well as other restrictions of rights.

As a result of the work done through the disability rights movement, significant disability rights legislation was passed in the 1970s through the 1990s in the U.S.

History

The disability rights movement began in the 1960s, encouraged by the examples of the African-American civil rights and women’s rights movements

Second-wave feminism

The Feminist Movement, or the Women's Liberation Movement in the United States refers to a period of feminist activity which began during the early 1960s and lasted through the early 1990s....

.

It was at this time that disability rights advocacy began to have a cross-disability focus. People with different kinds of disabilities (physical and mental handicaps, along with visual- and hearing-impairments) and different essential needs came together to fight for a common cause.

In 1948, a watershed for the movement was the proof of the existence of physical and program barriers. The proof was provided as a specification for barrier free usable facilities for the handicap. The specifications provided the minimum requirements for barrier free physical and program access. An example of barriers are; providing only steps to enter buildings; lack of maintenance of walkways; locations not connected with public transit; lack of visual and hearing communications ends up segregating individuals with disabilities from independent, participation, and opportunities. The ANSI - Barrier Free Standard (phrase coined by Dr. Timothy J. Nugent, the lead investigator) called "ANSI A117.1, Making Buildings Accessible to and Usable by the Physically Handicapped", provides the indisputable proof that the barriers exist. It is based on disability ergonomic research conducted at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign campus from 1946 to 1986. The research was codified in the ANSI A117.1 standard in 1961, 1971, 1980, and 1986. The standard is the outcome of physical therapists, bio-mechanical engineers, and individuals with disabilities who developed and participated in over 40 years of research. Easter Seals Education Committee Chairman Harold Wilke was tasked with assembling that diverse group in 1959. The standard provides the criteria for modifying programs and the physical site to provide independence. Applying the researched standards criteria presents reliable access and non-hazardous conditions. In October 2011 the standard turned 50 years old. The standard has been emulated globally since its introduction in Europe, Asia, Japan, Australia, and Canada, in the early 1960s.

One of the most important developments of the disability rights movement was the growth of the independent living movement, which emerged in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

in the 1960s through the efforts of Edward Roberts

Ed Roberts (activist)

Edward Verne Roberts was an American activist. He was the first student with severe disabilities to attend the University of California, Berkeley. He was a pioneering leader of the disability rights movement.-Early life:...

and other wheelchair-using individuals. This movement, a subset of the disability rights movement, postulates that people with disabilities are the best experts on their needs, and therefore they must take the initiative, individually and collectively, in designing and promoting better solutions and must organize themselves for political power. Besides de-professionalization and self-representation, the independent living movement's ideology comprises de-medicalization of disability, de-institutionalization and cross-disability (i.e. inclusion in the independent living movement regardless of diagnoses).

In 1973 the (American) Rehabilitation Act became law; Sections 501, 503, and 504 prohibited discrimination in federal programs and services and all other programs or services receiving federal funds. Key language in the Rehabilitation Act, found in Section 504, states “No otherwise qualified handicapped individual in the United States, shall, solely by reason of his [sic] handicap, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” This was the first civil rights law guaranteeing equal opportunity for people with disabilities.

Another crucial turning point was the nationwide sit-in in 1977 of government buildings operated by HEW

Hew

Hew is a masculine given name, and may refer to the following:* Hew Dalrymple, Lord North Berwick , Scottish judge and politician* Hew Dalrymple Ross , British soldier* Hew Fraser , British field hockey player...

(the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare), conceived by Frank Bowe

Frank Bowe

Frank G. Bowe was the Dr. Mervin Livingston Schloss Distinguished Professor for the Study of Disabilities at Hofstra University. As a disability rights activist, author, and teacher, he accomplished a series of firsts for individuals with disabilities.- "Father of Section 504" :Dr...

and organized by the American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities

American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities

The American Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities was, in the mid-1970s to early 1980s, a national consumer-led disability rights organization called, by nationally syndicated columnist Jack Anderson and others, “the handicapped lobby”...

, that led to the release of regulations pursuant to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. On April 5, 1977, activists began to demonstrate and some sat-in in the offices found in ten of the federal regions including New York City, Los Angeles, Boston, Denver, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Atlanta. The two most noteworthy protests occurred in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The protesters demanded the signing of regulations for Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. There were about 300 people in Washington, D.C. who marched to and then demonstrated inside the HEW building where Secretary Joseph Califano’s office was. He was the person who was to sign the regulations, but was delaying the process. Although he met with a few protest representatives, including Frank Bowe

Frank Bowe

, he still did not sign. This action led many protesters to continue their sit-in overnight, but they then left after 28 hours. The more successful sit-in occurred in San Francisco, led by Judith Heumann

Judith Heumann

Judith E. Heumann , , is an American disability rights activist. An internationally recognized leader in the disability community, Heumann is a lifelong civil rights advocate for people with disabilities...

. The first day of protests marked the first of a 25-day sit-in. Close to 120 disability activists and protesters occupied the HEW building. Califano finally signed on April 28, 1977. This protest was significant not only because its goal was achieved, but also because it was the foremost concerted effort between people of different disabilities coming together in support of legislation that affected the overall disability population, rather than only specific groups. Prior to the 1990 enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act was the most important disability rights legislation in the United States.

In 1978 disability rights activists in Denver, Colorado, organized by the Atlantis Community, held a sit-in and blockade of the Denver Regional Transit Authority buses in 1978. They were protesting the fact that city’s transit system was completely inaccessible for the physically disabled. This action proved to be just the first in a series of civil disobedience demonstrations that lasted for a year until the Denver Transit Authority finally bought buses equipped with wheelchair lifts. In 1983, Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT)

ADAPT

ADAPT is a grassroots United States disability rights organization with chapters in 30 states. It is known for being part of the militant wing of the disability rights movement due to its history of nonviolent direct action in order to bring attention to the lack of civil rights the disability...

was responsible for another civil disobedience campaign also in Denver that lasted seven years. They targeted the American Public Transport Association in protest of inaccessible public transportation; this campaign ended in 1990 when bus lifts for people using wheelchairs were required nationwide by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Another significant protest related to disability rights was the Deaf President Now

Deaf President Now

Deaf President Now was a student protest at Gallaudet University. The university, established by an act of Congress in 1864 to serve the Deaf, had always been led by a hearing president...

protest by the Gallaudet University

Gallaudet University

Gallaudet University is a federally-chartered university for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing, located in the District of Columbia, U.S...

students in Washington, D.C. in March 1988. The 8-day (March 6 – March 13) demonstration and occupation and lock-out of the school began when the Board of Trustees appointed a new hearing President, Elisabeth Zinser, over two Deaf candidates. The students’ primary grievance was that the university, which was dedicated to the education of the hearing-impaired, had never had a Deaf president, someone representative of them. Of the protesters’ four demands, the main one was the resignation of the current president and the appointment of a Deaf one. The student demonstration consisted of about 2,000 participants who were not just students. The protests not only took place on campus, but they also took it to government buildings and marched through the streets. In the end, all the students’ demands were met and I. King Jordan

I. King Jordan

Irving King Jordan became, in 1988, the first deaf president of Gallaudet University, the world's only university with all programs and services designed specifically for students who are deaf and hard of hearing...

was appointed the first Deaf President of the university.

In 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act became law, and it provided comprehensive civil rights protection for people with disabilities. Closely modeled after the Civil Rights Act and Section 504, the law was the most sweeping disability rights legislation in American history. It mandated that local, state, and federal governments and programs be accessible, that employers with more than 15 employees make “reasonable accommodations” for workers with disabilities and not discriminate against otherwise qualified workers with disabilities, and that public accommodations such as restaurants and stores not discriminate against people with disabilities and that they make “reasonable modifications” to ensure access for disabled members of the public. The act also mandated access in public transportation, communication, and in other areas of public life.

In the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, following extensive activism by disabled people over several decades, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995

Disability Discrimination Act 1995

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which has now been repealed and replaced by the Equality Act 2010 , except in Northern Ireland where the Act still applies...

(DDA 1995) was passed. This made it unlawful in the United Kingdom to discriminate against people with disabilities in relation to employment, the provision of goods and services, education and transport. The Equality and Human Rights Commission provides support for this Act. Equivalent legislation exists in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

, which is enforced by the Northern Ireland Equality Commission.

Notable organizations

Although the disability rights movement itself began in the 1960s, advocacy for the rights of people with disabilities did exist before that, and so the list of notable organizations has been expanded to reflect that.

American Association of Citizens with Disabilities (1975–1983) – was a cross-disability organization that focused on advocacy and services.

American Association of People with Disabilities
American Association of People with Disabilities
The American Association of People with Disabilities is a 501 non-profit organization in Washington, DC., which advocates for the legal rights of people with disabilities...

(1995) – a cross-disability organization that focuses on advocacy and services.

American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today
ADAPT
ADAPT is a grassroots United States disability rights organization with chapters in 30 states. It is known for being part of the militant wing of the disability rights movement due to its history of nonviolent direct action in order to bring attention to the lack of civil rights the disability...

(1978) – was organized by the Atlantis Community and primarily serves the physically disabled and focuses on advocating for rights and services.

American Federation for the Physically Handicapped (1940–1958) – primarily served the physically disabled and focused on advocacy and services. The National Association of the Physically Handicapped now carries on its work.

American Foundation for the Blind
American Foundation for the Blind
The American Foundation for the Blind is an American non-profit organization that expands possibilities for people with vision loss. AFB's priorities include broadening access to technology; elevating the quality of information and tools for the professionals who serve people with vision loss; and...

(1921) - primarily serves the blind population and focuses on advocacy and services.

Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
The Autistic Self-Advocacy Network or ASAN is a 501 nonprofit advocacy organization for individuals on the Autism spectrum, and is run by Autistic people. ASAN believes that the goal of Autism advocacy should be a world in which Autistic people enjoy the same access, rights, and opportunities as...

(2006) - an international organization that provides support, services, and public policy advocacy for those on the Autism spectrum
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...

while working to improve the public perception of Autism and related conditions. It is run by Autistic people, and was founded by Autistic self-advocates Ari Ne'eman
Ari Ne'eman
Ari Ne'eman is an American autism rights activist who cofounded the Autistic Self Advocacy Network in 2006. On December 16, 2009 President Barack Obama announced that Ari Ne'eman would be appointed to the National Council on Disability. Ne'eman has a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome, which would make...

and Scott Robertson.

Center for Independent Living (1972) - an American organization that primarily serves the physically disabled and focuses on advocacy and services.

Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (1979) – a cross-disability American organization that focuses on legal advocacy, training and research. The group participated in a significant amount of lobbying and legislation from the 1980s to the 90s.

Disabled in Action
Disabled in Action
Disabled In Action of Metropolitan New York is a civil rights organization, based in New York City, committed to ending discrimination against people with disabilities through litigation and demonstrations. Founded in 1970 by Judith E. Heumann and several other disabled friends, Disabled In Action...

(1970) - an American organization that primarily serves the physically disabled and focuses on advocacy and services. The group concerns itself with lobbying for new legislation that would provide for and defend the civil rights of people with disabilities and with the enforcement of current legislation.

Easter Seals
Easter Seals
Easter Seals is an international charitable organization devoted to providing opportunities for children with physical disabilities. See*Easter Seals *Easter Seals *Easter Seals...

(1916) - an international organization that provides services, education, outreach, and advocacy so that people living with Autism and other disabilities can live, learn, work, and play in their communities.

MindFreedom International
MindFreedom International
MindFreedom International is an international coalition of over one hundred grassroots groups and thousands of individual members from fourteen nations. It was founded in 1990 to advocate against forced medication, medical restraints, and involuntary electroconvulsive therapy. Its stated mission is...

(1990) - is a nonprofit international organization that unites 100 sponsor and affiliate grassroots groups with thousands of individual members to win human rights and alternatives for people labeled with psychiatric disabilities.

National Association of the Deaf
National Association of the Deaf
National Associations of the Deaf are national bodies that represent Deaf people and the Deaf community in their respective countries. They are usually members of the World Federation of the Deaf and advocate for sign language.-See also:...

(1880) - an American organization that primarily serves the Deaf population and focuses on advocacy and services.

National Center for Learning Disabilities (1977) – an American organization that primarily serves people with learning disabilities and focuses on advocacy and services.

National Council on Disability
National Council on Disability
The National Council on Disability was initially established in 1978 as an advisory board within the United States Department of Education to guarantee equal opportunity for people with disabilities. NCD is composed of 15 members, appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by...

(1978) - a cross-disability American organization with a focus on the government.

National Council on Independent Living (1982) – a cross-disability American organization with a focus on the government.

National Disability Rights Network (1980) - an American nonprofit membership organization for the federally mandated Protection and Advocacy (P&A) Systems and Client Assistance Programs (CAP). Collectively, the P&A/CAP network is the largest provider of legally based advocacy services to people with disabilities in the United States.

National Down Syndrome Congress
National Down Syndrome Congress
The National Down Syndrome Congress is a national not-for-profit organization that provides individuals, families, and health care providers information and support about Down syndrome, as well as advocating with and on behalf of individuals with Down syndrome.In recent years, the NDSC's most...

(1973) - is a national (American) not-for-profit organization that provides individuals, families, and health care providers information and support about Down syndrome, as well as advocating with and on behalf of individuals with Down syndrome.

National Organization on Disability (N.O.D.) (1982) - expands the participation and contribution of America’s 54 million men, women, and children with disabilities in all aspects of life.

External links

Disability Rights and Rehabilitation by Einar Helander
Independent Living Resources
National Organization on Disability
The Rolling Rains Report on Travel, Disability, and Universal Design A blog positioning inclusive consumer activities such as travel within the disability rights movement through the use of the movement's design philosophy Universal Design
Universal design
Universal design refers to broad-spectrum ideas meant to produce buildings, products and environments that are inherently accessible to both people without disabilities and people with disabilities....

.
Society for Disability Studies
Lives Worth Living site for Independent Lens
Independent Lens
Airing weekly on PBS through ITVS, the Emmy Award-winning series Independent Lens introduces new drama and documentary films made by independent filmmakers. Past seasons of Independent Lens have been presented by hosts Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Susan Sarandon, Edie Falco, Terrence Howard, Maggie...

on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....

History

Notable organizations

See also

Lawsuits

External links

Further reading