Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month was proclaimed in March of 1987. Social change had come in the seventies and early eighties calling upon all Americans to put aside their prejudice and provide opportunities for developmental disabilities to reach their full potential. Often times pushed to the back of society the change made awareness necessary so this group of citizens could grow in value in our communities as well as their own lives.
There were a lot of preconceptions about the possibilities for those with developmental disabilities but with a new focus those assumptions began to shatter. Advocates of the movement had recognized the moral imperative of engaging individuals with developmental and other disabilities.
The expectations of young people with developmental disabilities and their parents began to shift. Productive, self-directed lives within the community increasingly became the goal, and (increasingly) an obtainable goal. At the same time, due to improvements in healthcare, people with developmental disabilities were living longer, leading to questions about the lifestyle of “retirement-age” individuals. In short, the national conversation began to address the full spectrum of services needed for people with disabilities to live secure, fulfilling lives. Passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 2004 which is a law that makes available a free appropriate public education to eligible children with disabilities throughout the nation and ensures special education and related services to those children, further cemented the resolve of self-advocates and their supporters. With its guarantees of early intervention, special education and services to transition high schoolers into adulthood, IDEA opened a world of possibilities.
Our communities today continue to house these programs for full development of all individuals in our communities. There are still many challenges to overcome but awareness and response has provided opportunity and growth in areas where others may have thought not possible. This is a lesson to all that the human condition is not defined by our individual notions of success but by the relative experiences in our personal lives.
(shared by the Diversity Committee, Residence Life, Housing and Dining Services)