Abstract
In this article, I share my experience of going to school and noticing different groups of students. I noticed that students with disabilities were treated differently, but I didn't understand why. Throughout history, people with disabilities have often been treated differently. For hundreds of years, people with disabilities did not live with their families or in their communities. People with disabilities were often forced to live in institutions or workhouses. Institutions were not good places; they were dangerous, unclean, and isolated. People with disabilities were not allowed to live the life they wanted. In the 1960s, many advocates wanted to change the dangerous and unhealthy conditions in institutions. These advocates knew that people with disabilities could live in the community. Unfortunately, most communities did not know how to support people with disabilities. President Kennedy also worried about the rights of people with disabilities. He had a sister with a disability, and he knew how dangerous institutions were. President Kennedy helped pass many new laws to support people with disabilities. These new laws also created the "Developmental Disabilities Network". This journal will publish articles about the importance of the Developmental Disabilities Network and the systems that support people with disabilities. This journal will also include articles by people with disabilities. We want to make sure that people with disabilities also have a voice in deciding what we publish. So, we include people with disabilities in the review and editing process. This journal is different because we want to make it as accessible and inclusive as possible.
Plain Language Summary
In this article, I share my experience of going to school and noticing different groups of students. I noticed that students with disabilities were treated differently, but I didn't understand why. Throughout history, people with disabilities have often been treated differently. For hundreds of years, people with disabilities did not live with their families or in their communities. People with disabilities were often forced to live in institutions or workhouses. Institutions were not good places; they were dangerous, unclean, and isolated. People with disabilities were not allowed to live the life they wanted. In the 1960s, many advocates wanted to change the dangerous and unhealthy conditions in institutions. These advocates knew that people with disabilities could live in the community. Unfortunately, most communities did not know how to support people with disabilities. President Kennedy also worried about the rights of people with disabilities. He had a sister with a disability, and he knew how dangerous institutions were. President Kennedy helped pass many new laws to support people with disabilities. These new laws also created the "Developmental Disabilities Network". This journal will publish articles about the importance of the Developmental Disabilities Network and the systems that support people with disabilities. This journal will also include articles by people with disabilities. We want to make sure that people with disabilities also have a voice in deciding what we publish. So, we include people with disabilities in the review and editing process. This journal is different because we want to make it as accessible and inclusive as possible.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Wappett, Matthew
(2020)
"Opening Editorial: The Origin and Aims of the Developmental Disabilities Network Journal,"
Developmental Disabilities Network Journal: Vol. 1:
Iss.
1, Article 2.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26077/rr7z-jn68
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/ddnj/vol1/iss1/2
Included in
Disability and Equity in Education Commons, Disability Law Commons, Disability Studies Commons, Social Policy Commons