Let Freedom Ring

On July 4,1776, the Declaration of Independence was approved and among the men that signed it had a disability.  When signed his name he said out loud “My hand may tremble but my heart does not”.   Do you know which of those men was the one that had the privilege of representing the future people that would have disabilities? It was Stephen Hopkins.  Since that time, almost 300 years later, there have been more improvements and laws passed.  Although most of the progress did not happen until centuries later, it still was a small look at what was to come.

People with disabilies back in those where normal, it was because most did not know and where not labeled with a diagnosis. Imagine a world without labels! Oh what a world that it would be. It might even be judgment free and everyone’s weakness would be there stretches!   Hum… instead of people being treated like they were nothing, they would be treated as if they were something. In a perfect world that may have happened.

Like most things, change takes time to evolve sometimes there are negive outcomes before a positive can be seen.  There was one point in time that if you were out in the open with a disability that meant you were put into institutions where each capability was at a different level based on how severe your disability was. Any form of education was out of the question. Especially in the public.   Most where home schooled so they could get as close to a proper education as possible.

Fast forward to almost 200 year’s latter. There started to be laws passed about people with disabilies finally having the right to a good education. The act was call the IDEA   It was started because two parents did not feel like it was right that their children were being deprived of their rights to an education. There was also a famous and influential family where disability rights hit close to home. They were the Kennedy’s from Brookline Massachusetts. Patricia, Jean, Kathleen, Joseph Jr, Ted, Robert, John and Eunice had a sister Rose who was mentally retarded but they treated her no different than they treated each other.  There were always things that they saw that made her different from the rest., Rose loved sports but due to her challenges she was unable to play sports with her peers other than at home with family members.

Eunice took note of that and came up with an idea. What if there was a camp so that Rose could feel like she was not alone and that there were others that are in the same shoes as her.  Then they could all feel a part off the community. Eunice took her ideas and would start a summer camp for people with disabilities in 1962 called Camp Shiver. From that camp would later become one of the biggest organizations for people with special needs. Most of us know it was the Special Olympics and the first games where held in 1968 and have expanded ever since to people around the world.

During that time, Eunice was not the only one in her family to achieve big accomplishments in the family.  Her brother John F. Kennedy was elected president and he also was the youngest elected at that time. He had a lot of potential to offer the world.  Unfortunately his time in office was cut short when he was killed in the middle of his term.  But his hard work was not overlooked. After his passing, Lyndon B. Johnson took over and made sure that the things that John had started would be completed. One of those being the Social Security Act of 1965.  It would allow people that were not able to work or who may never be able to have some sort of income and health care. Then a few decades later in 1990.  President George H. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act that allowed people with disabilities to have opportunities to have a job and make some money on their own and among other things be more welcomed in their communities.

That was over 25 years ago it is now 2016 and there are many things that we have overcome but yet there are still a long way to go. Change can be scary. Change can be good too. They are considering closing all the sheltered workshops.  Great!  More people will now be in the community working!  Oh but wait, what about all those people that may not last in a competitive environment?  What’s going to happen if they are not able to hold a completive job? Don’t they have the right to make their own money? If all that is infect going to happen there are going to be a lot of people that will be having their jobs took from them and left with a lot unaswered questions. A big peace of what makes them feel independent is taken away.  While money is not everything, there is a good feeling from all the hard work when you accomplice but when that something is no longer there it is almost like taking your freedom and independence away.