Knowra Disability rights movement Disability rights movement A movement advocating equal rights, accessibility, inclusion, and protection from discrimination for people with disabilities. It seeks to shift disability policy from charity and segregation toward autonomy and equal participation.
Independent living movement : A movement led by disabled people advocating control over their lives and community-based support. It supplied organizing principles and peer-led services for disability rights campaigns.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act : A 1973 U.S. law prohibiting disability discrimination in programs receiving federal financial assistance. Its regulations gave activists an enforceable foundation for challenging exclusion.
Social model of disability : An account of disability that locates disadvantage in social and environmental barriers rather than impairment alone. It frames inaccessible institutions and exclusion as remediable causes of disability disadvantage.
Disability rights : The rights and protections that ensure disabled people can participate equally in society. The movement made these claims a recognized civil rights agenda.
Ed Roberts : An American disability rights activist who helped establish the independent living movement. His organizing at the University of California, Berkeley, became a model for disabled-led advocacy.
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 : A U.S. civil rights law prohibiting disability discrimination across employment, public services, and public accommodations. It extended disability protections beyond federally funded programs into much of public life.
Medical model of disability : An approach that treats disability primarily as an individual condition to diagnose, treat, or cure. The movement challenges its tendency to make medical authority, rather than equal participation, the main concern.
Accessibility : The design of environments, services, and information so people with diverse abilities can use them. Accessibility became a public obligation rather than a matter of optional accommodation.
504 Sit-in : A 1977 occupation of federal offices by disabled activists demanding enforcement of Section 504. The protest forced federal action on a landmark ban on disability discrimination.
Disability law : The body of laws and legal principles governing disability rights, services, and discrimination. Statutes and enforcement mechanisms translate movement demands into duties institutions must follow.
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