April 2011

RTC Launches National Resource on History of Leadership in Disabilities Movement

For over a century a movement has been growing in this country to ensure that people with developmental disabilities are valued, included, empowered and productive members of society. This collective effort of individuals and groups, referred to broadly as the Developmental Disabilities Movement, has been spurred on by leaders who have brought different styles of leadership and different leadership priorities to the task of creating sustained social change.

A new Web resource that offers a history of this movement and some of its key leaders has been launched by the Institute on Community Integration’s Research and Training Center on Community Living (RTC), with funding from The MENTOR Network Charitable Foundation. Titled, Leadership in the History of the Developmental Disabilities Movement: A Web-Based Instructional, Discussion, and Wiki Program, this multimedia Web site (http://www.disabilityhistorywiki.org) uses Wiki technology to create a living history that continually expands and evolves with contributions from leaders around the country. “We envision this Web site as a tree,” says Charlie Lakin, RTC Director. “It presents an overview course on disability history that we’ve developed, and that’s the trunk of the tree. But to make it a living tree we also need branches, and branches off of those branches. We hope that many of the established leaders and historians of our field will contribute those branches by using the site as a multi-media repository through which to share the personalities, ideas, and lessons that have shaped our field to date. Hopefully, by passing on their stories of how we got to where we are, future leaders will be better aided to guide the continued evolution of the movement.”

The overview course reaches back to 1845 and profiles key leaders and events in the movement from that time forward to today, focusing on these types of leaders: Professional, Societal, Knowledge, Policy, Creative, Motivational, and Organizational. The course is expanded upon by the Wiki repository housing the experiences, stories, and archival materials submitted by these different types of movement leaders from around the country. As many older leaders who’ve contributed to the tremendous progress in the Developmental Disabilities Movement since the 1950s are reaching retirement age and beyond, the time is right to gather and preserve the insights and resources they possess as an important legacy for future generations.

“Our hope for this project is that it will be a source of inspiration for current and future leaders in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities,” says Dwight Robson, President of The MENTOR Network Charitable Foundation (see http://www.thementornetwork.com/foundation), which has supported the project with a $25,000 grant. “Especially for those new to the field, this project will underscore how much progress had been made while energizing all of us to continue to push the movement forward toward a day of full equality and integration for those we support.”

FFI about the new Web site contact Jerry Smith at smith495@umn.edu or (612) 624-4336.