March 14

My main take-away from Dr. Keisling's presentation on The History of Disability was that through the course of time, the rights of individuals with disabilities has progressed. Persons with disabilities needs and rights have come along way through the past decades, but we need to still be advocating for those with disabilities. It was informing to see how inhumane the treatment really was in the Ted Talk and also the presentation today. I knew the treatment was so poor in institutions, but I didn't know how about people were trying to selectively mate, so people with disabilities would not be on in society at all anymore. I didn't know that it was common to state on signs publicly that people with disabilities were born as burdens on others I found it valuable to learn about steps taken by advocates to gain rights and recognition. It was inspiring to hear about movements that happened in favor of people with disabilities in Dr. Keisling’s presentation. 

I was able to gather more in-depth information about some of the legislation that was discussed in the era presentations. In my part of the era presentation, I discussed Rosemary Kennedy, and I found it meaningful to learn more depth information about her path. I was able to connect information I learned from this course, and the era presentations with the visual aids Dr. Keisling brought. The visual aids helped me understand how bad the treatment of those with disabilities really was. 

It is important to know the history of those with disabilities, so we are able to gain empathy and understand about their past. It is also meaningful to see the progress that has been made over the past decades, and to understand that we still need to be advocating. As a future OT, I hope to advocate, also others have done, for people's with disabilities. I hope to show empathy in situations and to take with me the importance of advocating for those with disabilities.