Peter Blanck
2006
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In the United States, the understanding, legal definitions, and attitudes regarding disabilities and persons with disabilities have changed over the years. Traditionally, a disability was seen as a defect that prevented someone from participating in "normal" life activities. It could be a physical or mental problem and could have been life-long or one that resulted from an accident or illness later in life. Attitudes ranged from the desire to protect the person to concern that the person's abilities, and therefore value, were diminished to shame and blame toward the individual and the family. In many cases, the person was closeted away, at home or in an institution, and had little interaction with general society; and in most cases, the disability was regarded as permanent and debilitating,
Peter Blanck. (2006). U.S. Society and Laws Protect the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. e-Journal USA: Society & Values, 11(2).
Keywords: Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act, civil rights, disability law, disability rights