The History of Disabilities by Bruce Keisling

   Recently we have been taking time to discuss the history of occupational therapy including how it started, the role of the government and specific laws and acts that has shaped what the profession is today. Learning all of this information can be an overwhelming task with all of the different dates, names and explanations. However, today a new spin was put on why learning history is so important for us to be successful OT's. Our class had the opportunity to listen to Dr. Bruce Keisling about the history of disabilities and just why it is so important to us.
   Dr. Keisling challenged our class by asking, "why do we REALLY need to review history?". Personally, I just thought that learning the history of OT was a standard for our boards and it was just something we had to do. After the presentation today, I think differently. Knowing the history of OT, and specifically disabilities, is important because we need to know the history of the people we are helping. We need to know where they came from and what they possible have been through to get that deeper connection between therapist and client and get the best results possible.
   When I was growing up accessibility and inclusion seemed to be the norm and I really didn't know that it was ever any different until today. It all started in the early 20th Century. People with disabilities were known as feeble-minded, criminals, violent and they needed to be taken out of society. There was a push for involuntary sterilization of people with disabilities so that in 3 generations these "types" of people would be gone. People with disabilities would be taken out of society and put in institutions for a variety of conditions including: low vision, loss of hearing, seizures and imperfect gait. These institutions quickly became over crowded and conditions were sickening for the patients. This part was extremely shocking for me because first the qualifications to be put in an institution are all very common in today's society and second because of the conditions that the patients were living in. They were not even treated like humans and it was hard to even listen to stories and see pictures.
   This inhumane treatment in institutions did start to turn around with the election of John F. Kennedy. This was so interesting to me because Kennedy's sister had an intellectual disability and had been a victim of un unsuccessful lobotomy. This was kept a secret for many many years, until finally in the famous Saturday Evening Post "Hope for Retarded Children". This sparked the start of a positive and still ongoing change for society and the equal treatment of people with disabilities. Today, after many new laws and countless number of people fighting for rights and never giving up, people with disabilities are getting the same opportunities as everyone else including schooling, jobs and other daily activities. It still is not perfect but it is continually improving. It is important as an OT to give all people hope and determination that whatever dreams they have, they CAN be achieved with effort and determination!