Historical and Current Perspective on Developmental Disabilities (Essay Sample)

Historical and current perspectives regarding the way individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities are viewed and treated
In early times, children born with disabilities were hidden and sometimes even killed. Feelings of shame and guilt were often associated with giving birth to a child with a disability. Sometimes the disability was blamed on sins of family members. Even as people with disabilities became more accepted, society viewed disability as a personal tragedy with which the individual and family must cope. Feelings of pity and actions of charity were typically evoked in others. Even successful individuals such as Franklin D. Roosevelt tried to hide their disabilities. Early on, organizations focused on the prevention and cure of disabilities. Successful funding campaigns, even to this day, often share images of helpless children with disabilities apparently doomed to a miserable life. In the 40s and 50s parents organized and advocated for education and services for their children with disabilities, but the children were not routinely encouraged to advocate for themselves. Children with disabilities rarely encountered successful adults with disabilities.
Explanation of disproportionate representation within culturally diverse groups
The overrepresentation of culturally and linguistically diverse children in special education and the quality of their educational experiences have been regarded as among the most significant issues faced by the U.S. public school system in the past 30 years. The Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) entitles all individuals with disabilities to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) and mandates nondiscriminatory assessment, identification, and placement of children with disabilities. Children are not to be identified as disabled because of poor achievement due to environmental “disadvantage” or ethnic, linguistic, or racial difference. This is made clear by the prescribed evaluation procedures and the definitions of disability conditions in IDEA. However, nationally, some ethnic groups continue to be overrepresented as disabled, particularly as mildly mentally retarded (MMR) and seriously emotionally disturbed (SED). State and local representation rates vary widely but in many cases show even more marked patterns of overrepresentation (Oswald, 2001).
Federal definitions for the following:
Intellectual disability
Intellectual disability1 involves problems with general mental abilities that affect functioning in two areas: intellectual functioning (such as learning, problem solving, judgement) adaptive functioning (activities of daily life such as communication and independent living)
Developmental delay
A developmental delay refers to a child who has not gained the developmental skills expected of him or her, compared to others of the same age. Delays may occur in the areas of motor function, speech and language, cognitive, play, and social sk