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Section: Life & Leisure

Celebrating Disability History Week
By Ed Adamczyk

It is axiomatic, and borders on a one-line gag, to point out that the disabled community is the only minority group any of us can join, at any moment. A concept such as that one makes it particularly important to consider the remarkable progress the disability movement has achieved in American society. Thus, the upcoming celebrations of Disability History Week, October 18–24.

Ordered by legislative resolution of the New York State government, which points out that 16 percent of the state’s school population can be considered disabled, and following the lead of two dozen other states with similar proclamations, Governor David Patterson (himself a disabled citizen) has declared the week a part of the state calendar, as it has been decreed since 2007. Plans are afoot to make it permanent, led by 145th District Assemblyman Mark J. F. Schroeder, whose constituency includes Buffalo, Lackawanna, West Seneca and Orchard Park.

“We want to make sure that kids understand there are people with differences, and to treat them with respect, like any other person,” Schroeder says. “Thankfully, words like ‘deaf mute’ and ‘deaf and dumb’ are out. We make sure we’re teaching this correctly.”

Beyond public pronouncements, the concept resonates in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, a series of federal laws whose principles read like basic rights of citizenship: inclusion, full participation, economic self-sufficiency and equality for all people with disabilities.

A remarkable local repository of the history of what is known as the disability rights movement can be found in Williamsville, in the Museum of disABILITY. Located in a small building below several offices of People Inc., the nonprofit organization serving the region’s developmentally disabled community, the Museum offers a chronological look at the changing ways the disabled have been viewed and served.

Displays include a variety of topics, with an emphasis on history and awareness; it also offers a comprehensive website (www.museumofdisability.org), suggestions for lesson plans and school curricula and a traveling exhibit.

The Museum is joining with other local agencies to celebrate Disability History Week. A speaker’s series will be presented, and the events kick off with a film festival on October 16.

The University at Buffalo Center for the Arts will screen Autism: the Musical, an inspiring and award-winning HBO documentary about five autistic children who go into show business, writing and developing a musical production for themselves. (It is estimated that one in 150 American children are afflicted with autism, up from 1 in 10,000 in 1980.) Trisha Regan, director of the film, will be in attendance, as will Elaine Hall of New York City’s Miracle Project, an arts program for individuals with special needs.

“We offer the film festival as entertainment, as well as information,” says Museum of disABILITY director Teresa Fraser.

A number of local organizations are getting involved, including Buffalo’s Cantalician Center for Learning.

“We’ll have a panel that will contact local schools and libraries, to reach people coming up in the school system. It’s important to make them aware of the milestones that have been accomplished,” says Marian Nasca, the Center’s coordinator of adult day programs.

The statutory definition of “disabled” has changed over the years to the point where 6,400,000 of New York State’s 18,900,000 residents can be classified thusly.

As a consequence, the disabled remain a minority, but a noticeable and active one, through informed research and a growing societal acceptance.

A good place to get grounding in how we have come to this moment is the Museum of disABILITY (1219 North Forest Road; 817-7261). A good time to celebrate is Disability History Week.


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