American History and the Civil Rights Aspects of Special Education

Murder, institutionalization, and neglect have been the legacy for persons with disabilities in American, and worldwide. In America, it was not until the Early 1800''s that conditions began to change. Presently, in contrast to members of other minority groups protected under civil rights laws, persons with disabilities have not fully benefited from the civil rights laws meant to protect them as equal persons within American society. The purpose of this project is to use existing media to more rapidly bring about societal changes in perceptions of persons with disabilities in America. A constructivist approach as discussed by Funder (1995), to changing social constructions, and work by Fiske and Taylor (1991), on creating positive schema in order to improve stereotypes of persons. has been incorporated into the planning of activities and presentations for the proposed seminars. It is a goal of this project to reach individuals through the emotional presentation and use of existing media. Erasing barriers between individuals can only be accomplished when there is cultural, “buy-in,” among the masses.