Accessibility

This image shows one of the 1968 "Chicago Special Olympics" Games held in Soldier Field. The 1968 Games brought around 1,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities together from 26 U.S. states and Canada.

Speech by President John F. Kennedy to the Kennedy Foundation Mental Retardation Group and given to Mary Hammerbacher (Manner) as a counselor at Camp Shriver, 1962.

The integration of mentally disabled individuals post-institutionalization brought forth intricate challenges across society, education, and legislative fronts. Despite endeavors aiming to shift people from institutions to community-oriented settings, the available support systems and services fell short of meeting their diverse needs. This insufficiency led to societal barriers, encompassing stigmatization and marginalization, thereby impeding their acceptance and assimilation into society. In the broader context, mainstream society often disregarded the mentally disabled, perceiving them as incapable or burdensome, resulting in their exclusion from educational and societal realms.

During John F. Kennedy's presidency, concerted efforts were undertaken to propel the integration of mentally disabled individuals into mainstream society. Spearheading this movement was Kennedy's sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, whose establishment of the Special Olympics in 1968 served as a groundbreaking avenue for mentally disabled individuals to participate in athletic competitions, fostering a sense of inclusion and empowerment. Through Kennedy's advocacy and initiatives like the Special Olympics, there emerged greater societal integration and acknowledgment of the talents and capabilities inherent in mentally disabled individuals.

Sound recording of President John F. Kennedy’s Special Message to Congress on mental illness and mental retardation delivered from the White House Fish Room on February 5th, 1963.

A letter to the New Jersey Parent Groups for Retarded Children in 1951.

Specifically, education systems struggled to accommodate students with mental disabilities due to limited resources and a lack of inclusive educational practices. Legislation during this period faced a moral and economic dilemma: the moral imperative to ensure the rights and inclusion of mentally disabled individuals clashed with economic constraints and limited understanding of their needs. As a result, the mentally disabled population often found themselves disregarded by mainstream society, facing exclusion and insufficient resources for effective integration and support. The letter presented in the gallery shows how the integration of mentally disabled individuals, post institutionalization, posed problems within educational systems.

The image is a letter from a mother demanding the Board of Education to offer specialized instructions for her mentally disabled children as she believes traditional formal education doesn't sufficiently benefit them. Although the authorities have suggested sending her children to a state institution, the mother strongly opposes this idea and insists that her children should continue attending either public or trade schools.