B. People with Disabilities
Society's Attitude toward
People with Disabilities:
Changing Attitudes
Many legislative and societal
changes occurred in the 1960's and 70's which had a great influence on
the treatment of and attitudes toward people with disabilities.
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A Presidential Panel established
by President John F.
Kennedy,
affirmed that mental retardation is not a hopeless condition; it is subject
to prevention and amelioration.
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President Kennedy passed the Mental
Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction
Act of 1963. This fostered the establishment of University of Affiliated
Facilities which provided care to people with disabilities.
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Medicaid and Medicare were established
in the mid-1960's, making it possible for many developmentally disabled
persons and their families to secure medical and other long-term care in
their communities.
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President Lyndon Johnson established
a permanent presidential committee on mental retardation in 1965.
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The Civil Rights Act was passed
in 1964; tenets of which were
subsequently applied to many disadvantaged groups, including people with
developmental disabilities. The civil rights movement spread and
consumers began to organize.
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Legal Advocacy by groups such
as the ACLU in the "public interest" resulted in numerous judicial decisions
expanding the rights of people with developmental disabilities.
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President Nixon established a
goal of moving 1/3 of the nation's 200,000 institutionalized individuals
with mental retardation into supportive community living. He
issued presidential directives that required the Attorney General enforce
the rights of mentally retarded and that the Department of HUD create ways
to improve their housing.
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A mandate included in the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973 required states to address the vocational rehabilitation problems
of the severely disabled as a first priority.
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Creation of Supplemental Security
Income (SSI) and
supportive
social services (Title XX of the Social Security Act) provided federal
aid for services for the developmentally disabled.
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Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination against "otherwise qualified" handicapped
persons in any federally supported program.
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New standards were created for
Intermediate Care Facilities for the Mentally Retarded (ICF/MR facilities)
receiving Medicaid support.
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The Education for all Handicapped
Children Act (PL 94-142) was passed in 1975.
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The Air Carrier Access Act of
1986 prohibited discrimination in the air travel industry.
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Amendments to the Fair Housing
Act prohibited discrimination in selling and renting of public and private
housing. Landlords required to make accessibility modifications at
their own expense.
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Finally, the Americans with Disabilities
Act was passed in July
26, 1990. Essentially, this law is civil rights legislation for persons with disabilities. The ADA attempts to guarantee the
rights of full inclusion into the mainstream of American life for all persons
with disabilities.
As a result of these changes in
the management of people with disabilities during the 1970's and 80's,
tow of Florida's six large institutions for people with developmental disabilities
were closed. Although there are 4 remaining institutions, they have
been significantly downsized. For example, one these institutions
had approximately 2,500 residents in 1960, today, however, only 540 people
reside there.
A
Lou Harris poll conducted in 1991 was revealing and positive.
For example, 98% of individuals questioned believe that all people, regardless
of one's ability, should have an opportunity to participate in mainstream
society. Furthermore, there was a strong sentiment toward increased
employment of persons with disabilities; 92% polled believed that employment
of persons with disabilities would be economically beneficial to society. 
There
is a strong trend toward acceptance. These attitudes are in
sharp contrast to the prevailing attitudes of the first half of this century.
Changed Terminology
The
terminology used to describe people with disabilities has been changing
along with changes in society's attitudes. Very old terms include;
idiot, imbecile and moron. These terms were replaced with "mentally
retarded" and "disabled". In recent years, it has become important
to emphasize the individual, not the person's disability; e.g., "individuals
with mental retardation" rather than "mentally retarded people."
People with disabilities want to be recognized for their abilities, not
their disabilities. Some individuals prefer the term "differently
abled" rather than disabled.
Several years ago the Academy
of Dentistry for the Handicapped changed its name to the Academy of Dentistry
for Persons with Disabilities.
