The History of Disability Reflection

     Today in class Bruce Keisling, PhD talked about the history of disability. We also watched the CBS  documentary by Bill Baldini, "Suffer the Little Children." The presentation as well as the documentary showed how the intellectually disabled (ID) and developmentally disabled (DD) have been treated in the past within the United States. 

    In the early 1900s, the intellectually and developmentally disabled were seen as "feeble-minded." This led to the Eugenics Movement from 1920-1965 (Keisling, 2023). The Eugenics Movement was a terrible time for our country because they only wanted people with absolutely no medical or mental issues to breed. The Eugenics Movement thought that they could rid society of crime, poverty, and mental illness within just three generations. 

    "Suffer the Little Children" was about the conditions of Eastern PA State Institute for the Feeble-Minded and Epileptic (Pennhurst). This documentary was filmed in 1968 and showed how overcrowded and understaffed the institute was. For me the most significant part was when we heard Bill Baldini ask patients what they want most in the world and their response was to leave Pennhurst. I felt how unfair it was for the I/DD to not be allowed to speak up for themselves and decide for themselves that they do not need to be institutionalized. This hurt me that their family put them in an institution without giving them a choice because the people that love us are supposed to be our greatest advocates in life. 

    Having watched the documentary and hearing the history from Dr. Keisling I now realize how horrible it must have been to be intellectually or developmentally disabled during the 20th century. This makes me feel extremely grateful that I was born after the dissolving of institutions like Pennhurst. As a future occupational therapy practitioner, I will do my best to be an agent for change for those with disabilities.