Staten Island, New York

     

Willowbrook State School was one of the largest places that individuals with disabilities were sent to live and one of the largest contributors to the disabilities rights movement (Hill, 2016). The question is why was it a place that was so terrifying with horrific living conditions that made this movement take place? What other ways could these individuals have gotten rights other than to live and endure these horrible conditions? After the atrocities from Willowbrook were shown to the nation and a legal effort made to shut down the school, there was a change in the views of these people with disabilities. They were no longer an abomination to society but viewed as people who should also be allowed to live a life with meaning and purpose. This goal and movement still exists and as much as there have been legal rights and changes, struggles still exit for individuals with disabilities.

            Institutionalization occurred for multiple different reasons many decades ago. There was recommendations by family physicians due to quality of life issues, troubled familial backgrounds, poverty, race, gender, class, and most importantly the IQ score (Hill, 2016). Ground zero for the disability movement was in fact due to the living conditions at the Willowbrook State School in Staten Island, New York. It housed individuals from all ranges, all IQ levels, and even those that had sexual promiscuous behaviors (Hill, 2016). What was it that made admission to Willowbrook, for many different people and ages, the go to place? What was the advertising like and why did the families not say anything when visiting, if they did at all?

            Willowbrook, and other institutions, have often been described as ‘de-humanizing’ individuals with disabilities (Hill, 2016). Often times, these experiences included no interactions with people, other than peers, poor staff to individual ratios, no education, and limited nutrition. These environments often create enormous amounts of neglect and ignorance among caregivers who ignore the simple pleasures of humanity that people with disabilities did not get to enjoy. Thankfully, the movement for individuals with disabilities started to improve quality of life and give some humanity to these people.

                                                                        References

Hill, D. B. (2016). Sexual admissions: An intersectional analysis of certifications and residency

 at Willowbrook state school (1950–1985). Sexuality and Disability, 34(2), 103-129.

doi:10.1007/s11195-016-9434-z