As we have seen from our historical timeline, the treatment and perceptions of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) have undergone massive transformation since the 1900s. This has happened largely because people with IDD have demanded and created those changes. Like other civil rights movements, the disability rights movement has a long and complex history. Today, our goals should be to promote and protect the human rights of people with IDD and actively support their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetime (The Arc, 2020). The Arc (an organization that supports people with IDD and their families and fights for their human rights) continues to state that advocates, agencies, families, educators, and government officials must improve opportunities for people with IDD in ALL aspects of life including:
- Education
- Life in the Community
- Health (e.g., medical treatment, access, affordability, non-discrimination)
- Transportation
- Employment
- Housing/Independent Living (e.g., living conditions, adequate housing)
- Early childhood Supports and Services
- Sexuality
- Spirituality
- Aging
- Being a parent with IDD
Part I. Choose 4 areas of human rights from the list above.
For EACH of the 4 areas you choose, your task is to:
- Describe a specific barrier that individuals with IDD and/or their families face;
- Offer a feasible solution/recommendation for that barrier/issue. Think about what you or others could do to help solve the issue;
- Tell us WHY this issue is an important one; and
- Briefly provide evidence from research that supports this position. For this last point, this means that you will need to cite the evidence either from a published article OR a credible resource (see this list here) that provides the findings (e.g., American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Easter Seals, Special Olympics, TASH, the National Autistic Society, YAI – The National Institute For People With Disabilities Network – there are many more resources that you can cite, just be sure to provide the name).
Part II: Think critically about the idea that disability rights ARE human rights.
As you have now learned about, the history of people with IDD has been one of great discrimination, segregation, and exclusion from education to work to housing and even from routine daily activities. While we have US Constitution and federal laws and federal court decisions, families and educators report that there has been limited funding and enforcement. Societal prejudices are also very apparent.
Answer the following Questions:
(1) Why is disability considered a human rights issue?
(2) Where do you see that we have failed to live up to the promise of these laws and protective acts?
(3) Where have you noticed great advances locally in your community AND nationally in our country?
Part III: Sexuality and Persons with IDD
Sexuality is often overlooked in people with IDD. It conjures up many myths. For example – that people with IDD are eternal children because of their mental age (mental age is the age equivalence for the number of questions a person can answer correctly on an intelligence test). Just because a person’s mental age is equivalent to that of a child, does not mean that they are child-like in all respects. Like people without IDD, people with IDD show an interest in closeness, affect, contact with others. However, we tend to treat people with IDD as asexual. We know that sterilization of people with IDD was based on the belief of the eugenics movement and that “feeble-mindedness” was inherited. Intelligence tests were being used to determine if people should be institutionalized or sterilized to prevent procreation. Institutions were expensive to run! Thus, people with IDD were often sterilized so that they could then be put to work in the community.
Read the Insogna and Fiester (2015) article: Sterilization as a last resort in women with intellectual disabilities: Protection or disservice? (1) Do you agree with the authors’ viewpoint? Why or why not? (2) Discuss their view that sterilization should be considered a legitimate option alongside other forms of contraception, and that it no longer be viewed merely as a last resort. (3) Give your thoughts on the following statement: “The stance we take is that to categorically deny a woman with intellectual disabilities the option of sterilization until it is a last resort is to deny that woman access to an effective and popular means of contraception. This denial is a disservice that significantly compromises and neglects her inherent reproductive rights.” (4) What are your final thoughts on the topic of sterilization and women with IDD?
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