This came largely in part to the fact that he had a disability of his own. Unfortunately, public opinion mostly stayed the same, and people with disabilities were labeled as abnormal. Later own in the 1960’s, advocates for people with disabilities saw an opportunity to join sides with minority groups during the Civil Rights Movement. Parents were at the front of this stand, and demanded their children be taken out of institutions and placed in schools. “In the 1970s, disability rights activists lobbied Congress and marched on Washington to include civil rights language for people with disabilities into the 1972 Rehabilitation Act…. In 1973, the Rehabilitation Act was passed, and for the first time in history, civil rights of people with disabilities were protected by law.” (Anti-Defamation League) Then, in 1975, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was passed for children with disabilities to gain access into public school systems. Now public opinion was starting to transform and people with disabilities were becoming nationally …show more content…
People with disabilities now have jobs, they are graduating, and they are being accepted as athletes. The days of the asylums are long gone and people with disabilities have the freedom to be themselves. Unfortunately, there are still some bad apples in the bunch, but public opinion has vastly changed since the 1800’s. From being ridiculed by the masses, to now being accepted by the masses, people with disabilities have been roughly treated throughout the years, but there are greener pastures