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The History of Disability

My main take-away from Dr. Keisling’s presentation on The History of Disability was the importance of understanding and knowing the history behind disabilities. It is not essential that we know every piece of legislature in regards to this, but instead that we are familiar with how it is relevant. Before today’s presentation, I was honestly unaware of many of the topics he discussed. People with disabilities, mild to severe, were stripped of their human rights and not given the opportunity to make their own decisions in regards to their own life. I did not know the extent to which the government and the media took to exclude people from society and make generalizations about how they were dangerous. It makes me want to always see each individual as a person, and if they are different than me, not judge them, but get to know them for who they are. 

When working on the Era Presentations, I did not fully understand the importance of knowing the history behind various topics we learned about today. I was unaware how impactful the events during the 1960s, the era I presented on, were in regards to disabilities. I knew that President Kennedy was an advocate for those with disabilities, and today gave me a deeper understanding in his role with it. 



Dr. Keisling’s presentation helped me understand where we came from, where we are now, and where we still need to be as a society in helping and being accepting of those with disabilities. As he said, it is a process that takes time, but I am excited and encouraged to see the process we make during my lifetime. I think it is so important to connect and relate to our future clients and show them we are invested in their therapy intervention. If we show them that we are truly interested in them living their best quality of life, they will be more likely to want to engage in what we have planned for them. 

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Logan and I on our first day of OT school.

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