National Disability Employment Awareness Month * 2012

1984 Voting Accessibility for Elderly and Handicapped Act makes polling places accessible to people with disabilities 1990 President George Bush signs Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), requiring fair employment practices and protection from discrimination in employment, transportation, telecommunications, public accommodations and state and federal services 1992 United Nations creates International Day of Disabled Persons 2004 Army commissioned officer Tammy Duckworth loses lower legs after helicopter is hit by grenade, the first female double amputee from Iraq war. Receives Purple Heart and promotion to major in December; becomes disability activist 2006 First bill is passed that requires history of disability rights be taught to K12 public-school students 2008 ADA Amendments Act grants broader protections for workers with disabilities 2009 Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act protects employees/job applicants from genetic information discrimination 2010 President Barack Obama signs executive order calling for an additional 100,000 individuals with disabilities to be employed by federal government over five years, and to increase retention of employees with disabilities, including employees injured on the job 2011 New ADA rules come into effect for expanded accessibility requirements in recreational facilities and standards for mobility devices in public spaces, as well as clearly defined service animal

Stephen Hopkins
1751 Pennsylvania Hospital, with help of Benjamin Franklin, creates nations first special section to treat mental illness and mental retardation 1773 Virginia establishes first hospital solely for treatment of idiots, lunatics and other people of unsound mind 1776 Stephen Hopkins, a man with cerebral palsy, signs the Declaration of Independence. He is known for saying my hands may tremble, my heart does not 1805 Dr. Benjamin Rush, considered the father of American psychiatry, publishes Medical Inquiries and Observations, the first modern attempt to explain mental disorders 1817 First school for deaf in U.S. opens in Connecticut 1829 Louis Braille publishes raised-point alphabet 1907 Indiana becomes the first state to enact a law to sterilize confirmed idiots, imbeciles and rapists in state institutions. The law is enacted in 24 other states 1918 Congress passes first major rehabilitation program for soldiers because of the large number of World War I veterans returning with disabilities 1921 The American Foundation for the Blind is founded 1924 Virginia passes law allowing sterilization (without consent) of individuals found to be feebleminded, insane, depressed, mentally handicapped, epileptic and other 1927 U.S. Supreme Court rules forced sterilization of people with disabilities is not a violation of constitutional rights 1935 Social Security Act establishes federal benefits for elderly people, funds to states for assistance to blind individuals and children with disabilities 1939 Nazi euthanasia program is instituted to eliminate life unworthy of life. Up to 250,000 people with developmental or physical disabilities are killed

Dr. Benjamin Rush

1945 National Employ the Physically Handicapped Week is created 1950 Veterans and people with disabilities begin development of national standards for barrier-free buildings 1956 Social Security amendments create disability insurance for workers with disabilities 5064 1958 Social Security amendments extend disability benefits to dependents of workers with disabilities 1960 Rome hosts first Paralympics Games 1961 Making Buildings Accessible to and Usable by the Physically Handicapped is published. Fortynine states adapt accessibility legislation by 1973 1962 Ed Roberts, a young man with polio, fights rejection from the University of California, Berkeley and later helps establish the first Center for Independent Living 1964 The Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity or national origin, laying foundation for disabilityrights movement 1965 Medicare and Medicaid are established under Social Security Amendments

Ed Roberts
1970 Judy Heumann sues New York City Board of Education after application for a teaching license is denied because her wheelchair is a fire hazard 1973 Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination in federal programs and services receiving federal funds 1974 The last Ugly Law is repealed in Chicago. They had allowed police to arrest people with apparent disabilities for no reason 1975 The Education of All Handicapped Children Act requires free public education in least-restrictive setting for children with disabilities 1976 Amendment to Higher Education Act of 1972 mandates services for college students with physical disabilities 1978 Frank Bowe publishes Handicapping America, considered the text for the disability-rights movement 1980 Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act gives the Department of Justice power to sue state or local institutions that violate the rights of people held against their will

Sources: DiversityInc, disabilityhistoryweek.org, Temple University, whitehouse.gov, National Consortium on Leadership and Disability for Youth (NCLD/Y), Ability Magazine

Tammy Duckworth

President Barack Obama speaks at the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act

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www.DiversityInc.com/diversity-facts