Disability is not inability

My main take away from Dr. Keisling's presentation today on The History of Disability was that there has been a vast amount of changes in how those with disabilities are treated in society over the past several years. He spoke about how in years past those individuals with a disability were considered a burden on family members. He spoke of how badly these individuals were treated just simply because they were different. These individuals were malnourished and isolated from others in institutions because they had different characteristics than others. Dr. Keisling also spoke about how laws were put into place as the years went by to make our society accessible for individuals with disabilities.
Earlier in this course we had learned about the laws that were put into place throughout the years in health care from our era presentations. However, this presentation really made it clear to me why our society had such a need for these laws. Many of these laws helped put these individuals back into society including the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 along with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. I had learned about these acts and what they changed in our society during our era presentations, but seeing the examples and the stories shared from the presentation really linked everything together and made it more clear to me.
I feel what I have learned about the history of disabilities will definitely be something that I carry with me throughout my OT career. Seeing the progress that we have made as a society over the years has inspired me to advocate to make sure that these individuals are treated equally. I also will make it a point to see each individual as who they are because they are so much more than the disability that they may have.

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