Editing Disability rights movement (section)

===United States===

American disability rights have evolved significantly over the past century. Before the disability rights movement, President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]'s refusal to be publicized in a position of vulnerability demonstrated and symbolized the existing [[social stigma|stigma]] surrounding disabilities.<ref>{{cite book |last=Alter |first=Jonathan |author-link=Jonathan Alter |date=2007 |title=The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope |location=New York |publisher=Simon & Schuster |page=355 |isbn=9780743246019}}</ref> While campaigning, giving speeches, or acting as a public figure, he hid his disability. This perpetuated the ideology that "disability equates to weakness".<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Fleischer & Zames|first=Doris & Frieda|title=The Disability Rights Movement: From Charity to Confrontation|url=https://archive.org/details/disabilityrights00flei|url-access=limited|publisher=Temple University Press|year=2001|pages=[https://archive.org/details/disabilityrights00flei/page/n41 9]}}</ref>

Disability in the United States was viewed as a personal issue, and not many political or governmental organizations existed to support individuals in these groups. In the 1950s, there was a transition to volunteerism and parent-oriented organizations, such as the [[March of Dimes]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Purpose of the March of Dimes|url=https://charity.lovetoknow.com/charitable-organizations/purpose-march-dimes |first=Cheryl |last=Cirelli |website=LoveToKnow.com |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220117071057/https://charity.lovetoknow.com/charitable-organizations/purpose-march-dimes |archivedate=17 January 2022 |url-status=dead}}</ref> While this was the beginning of activism and seeking support for these groups, children with disabilities were largely hidden by their parents out of fear of forced rehabilitation.<ref name=":1" /> When the [[civil rights movement]] took off in the 1960s, disability advocates joined it and the [[Second-wave feminism|women's rights movements]] in order to promote equal treatment and challenge stereotypes. It was at this time that disability rights advocacy began to have a cross-disability focus. People with different kinds of disabilities (physical and mental disabilities, along with visual and hearing disabilities) and different essential needs came together to fight for a common cause.

It was not until 1990 that the [[Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990|Americans with Disabilities Act]] (ADA) was passed, legally prohibiting discrimination on account of disability, and mandating disability access in all buildings and public areas. The ADA is historically significant in that it defined the meaning of [[reasonable accommodation]] in order to protect employees and employers.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Befort & Donesky|first=Stephen & Tracey|date=2000|title=Reassignment Under the American Disabilities Act: Reasonable Accommodation, Affirmative Action, or Both?|url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/waslee57&div=35&id=&page=|journal=University of Minnesota Law School|volume=57 |page=1045 }}</ref>