Knowledge Check Session 20

Dr. Keisling's presentation really helped me understand how far we have progressed when it comes to how we treat individuals with disabilities .In the beginning, society was narrow minded and ignorant. We sent those with disabilities to institutions and treated them as criminals. Now, society is more accepting and these individuals have more rights. While we have made progress, the fight is not over. Advocacy for people with disabilities is still as important as ever, and we still have so much work to do.  

In Dr. Keisling's presentation, he spoke about important pieces of legislation that impacted individuals with disabilities. Specifically, he spoke of the Education for all Handicapped Children Act of 1975 ( later renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). This piece of legislation was also mentioned in the Era presentations that we did early on in the course. This Act made it so no person with disabilities could be denied education and required schools to provide any services required by the individual.

This information has really emphasized how important it is to make sure people are treated like people, disabled or otherwise. Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, no matter the situation. As a future OT practitioner, I will always strive to make my clients feel like they matter. No one deserves to feel forgotten or unwanted.

 "A person's a person, no matter how small."-Dr. Seuss, Horton Hears a Who!