A Reflection of Dr. Keisling's Presentation: The History of Disability

 On Tuesday, February 14th I had the opportunity to watch the film "Suffer the Little Children", a documentary about PennHurst and their institutionalization during that time and following the film Dr. Keisling presented on the history of disability. Both the film and presentation were an eye opener for me. During the film "Suffer the Little Children", I got to watch different viewpoints on what it's like living and working at PennHurst. What I watched was heartbreaking. Physicians and other staff would use horrible language like "mentally retarded" while referring to intellectuals disability, they would also drug the individuals there with medicine if they found that effective. The physicians wanted to degrade them. The individuals there were tied to their beds (that were pretty much cages), it was overcrowded, and unclean. The people there all wanted the same thing, which was to leave PennHurst. Everything about PennHurst and their "treatments" were inhumane. The presentation on the history of disability was identical to the film. People in the early years believed the individuals with a disability were criminals, "feeble-minded", did not belong to a society, etc. They also would associate disabilities with a variety of different conditions such as: epilepsy, alcoholism, insanity, etc.

For me the most important aspect that came out of this is that we are learning from the past. Our language and perception of individuals with a disability have become much better. We as a society have become more inclusive. We have seen the history of disability and how it has affected many people. Even though the history of disability was very different from the present it is still very relevant today. The history may shape an individual's experiences and even worldview. Going forward, especially in my generation, I believe there will be a continuum of positive change in regards of our perception of disability.

 Keisling, B (2023). The History of Disability, [ PowerPoint Slides] The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, The Center On Developmental Disabilities. https://www.uthsc.edu/cdd/