Disability through history is a very complex subject due to many circumstances and situations but especially due to the lack of information and ignorance that in some centuries and years the world lived.

Starting from the definition or meaning of the word: Disability,some people use the word: Handicapped,people with disadvantages,People with Special Needs or cripple, I think the word: Disabled is the best word for describing our condition.

Lack of Information in the sense that for years the topic about disability was a taboo,this combinated with the ignorance that through years people in our world showed about disabled people or disability issues,in many cultures being disabled was (sadly is still considered) as a Punishment of God,also being disabled was a sign of being weak or inferior,with less value as a human being,due to their limitations, disabled people were killed or forced to live in the dark (hidden from other people), some other disabled people were abandoned in hospices, hospitals and mental institutions because their families couldn't "take care of them",and/or they were more "a problem for their lives" than being considered as defenseless human beings with feelings and emotions,sadly there is also the fact that for centuries and even nowadays we disabled people can be seen as freaks or less than animals,just we have to remember the case of The Elephant man-Joseph Merrick, he suffered Neurofibromatosis/Proteus syndrome

So,the silence and the veil about disabled people and disabilities was better for some centuries and also for the people,that is why we don't have too many facts and not even a chapter that speaks and teaches Disabilities through history.

We are accustomed to read about "General History",while we study at schools, University, etc,we always get familiarized with the history of art, poetry and music,some people get fascinated with the history of war, and a few others like me,love some "specific" time: I for example love the history about the renaissance and all about the writers, lifestyle and art that was developed and alive during the middle ages.

But as a disabled person,I have found very limitated information,I can say almost nothing about Disabled people through history,true there are the very admired "challenged athletes" and the story about Paralympics(Special Olympics) allow us to read a little about the way disabled people have made a mark and a name on the adapted sports (also called challenged sports or sports for people with disabilities,etc),there are the personalities who are disabled,people with disabilities who have existed and touched the world with their talents,creations and hardworking style through the time:

Homer-.Late 8th century b.c. Greek epic poet and author of the Iliad and the Odyssey. Blind.

Claudius I-. 10 b.c.-54 a.d. Roman Emperor. Physical disabilities included partial paralysis, stammering, and limping. Wrote histories. Was subject of book and television series, "I, Claudius".

Ludwig von Beethoven-. 1770-1827. German composer. Deaf.

Vincent Van Gogh-.1853-1890,Born in the Netherlands,Post impressionist painter. Bipolar disorder.

Thomas Alva Edison-. 1847-1931. American inventor,called the Father of Electricity. Deafness and learning disability.

Francisco Goya-. 1746-1828. Spanish painter and printmaker. Deaf.

Leonardo da Vinci-. 1452-1519.A complete Reinassance Genious,A Italian painter,sculptor,writer, scientist, engineer, musician and architect. Strephosymbolis (unable to process symbols accurately).

Albert Einstein-. 1879-1955. German-American theoretical physicist. Learning disability.

Hans Christian Andersen-. 1805-1875. Danish writer of fairy tales.Learning disability.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt -.(January 30, 1882-April 12,1945), Thirty-second U.S. President (1933-1945). He suffered polio in 1921,as a result he used a wheelchair and wore leg braces.

Hellen Keller-.(June 27,1880-June 1,1968). American author and lecturer,Deaf/Blind Activist

Sir Winston Churchill-. 1874-1965. British statesman, soldier and Writer.He was Prime Minister of Great Britain during WWII. Rec'd. Nobel Prize for literature in 1953. Learning disability and bipolar disorder.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec-. 1864-1901. French painter and lithographer. Growth stunted by childhood accident; his legs didn't develop although his torso was not affected.

Auguste Rodin-. 1840-1917. French sculptor. Learning disability.

Charles Schwab-. 1938- American creator of multi-million dollar brokerage firm. Earned Business MBA from Stanford despite severe dyslexia. Founded PERC, Parents' Educational Resource Center in San Mateo, Ca., which provides counseling, a lending library and referrals to families dealing with learning disabilities.

Auguste Renoir-. 1841-1919. French Impressionist painter and sculptor. Disabled by rheumatoid arthritis, his paint brushes had to be tied to his hands. Eventually became paralyzed in both legs. Turned to sculpture when he was unable to continue painting.

Frida Khalo-.(July 6, 1907-July 13, 1954),She was born in Mexico but she became an International Artist/Painter,polio and Paralysis due to a bus accident.

John F. Kennedy-. 1917-1963. Thirty-fifth president of U.S.(1961-1963). Severe back disabilities due to war injury.

Rosemary Kennedy-.(13-Sep-1918-7-Jan-2005)She was J.F. Kennedy's sister.Mentally challenged but the inspiration for the Special Olympics and a great example of living with dignity despite her disabilities.

Jose Feliciano-. 1945- Puerto Rican Singer. Blind.

Stevie Wonder-.1950,African-American singer and songwriter. Blind.

Jeff Healy-.Canadian guitarist; Jeff Healy Band. Blind.

Sammy Davis, Jr.-. 1923-1990 African-American actor, singer and dancer. Lost his left eye in an auto accident in 1954.

Ray Charles-. 1930-2004.American singer, pianist, composer/songwriter. Contracted glaucoma at an early age and was blind within a year.

Stephen Hawking-. 1942- British theoretical physicist and author. Wrote A Brief History of Time. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Christy Brown-. 1932-1981. Irish novelist and poet. Almost completely paralyzed by cerebral palsy. Wrote autobiography which was made into a film, My Left Foot.

Itzhak Perlman-.1945- Israeli violinist. Uses leg braces because of poliomyelitis at age four.

Ronald Reagan-. (February 6, 1911-June 5, 2004), Former governor of California.Fortieth President 1981-1989, Alzheimer's disease.

Bob Dole-. 1923- Republican senator form Kansas. One arm disabled by WWII injury.

Dudley Moore-.(April 1935-March 2002),Progressive supranuclear palsy attacks brain cells and impairs mental and motor functions.

Richard Pryor-.1 December 1940- Multiple sclerosis

Marlee Matlin-. 1965- American actress. Academy Award for best actress in 1986. Deaf.

Gaby Brimmer-.(September 12,1947-January 2,2000)-Mexican Writer,Cerebral palsy,she died from a stoke.

Christopher Reeve-.(25 September 1952-10 October 2004)-paralyzed (Spinal Cord Injury) after a horse-riding accident in 1995,He died from a heart attack.

Jerry Lewis-.16 March 1926-viral meningitis and a few other health problems.

Lance Armstrong-.September 18, 1971- Testicular Cancer

Muhammad Ali-.January, 17, 1942-Parkinson's Disease.

Michael J. Fox-.9 June 1961-Parkinson's Disease,Canadian Actor and Founder of: The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research

Pope John Paul II-.(18th May 1920-2nd April 2005)A very loved and hardworking Pope from: 16th October 1978 - 2nd April 2005,besides John Paul II was shot and severely wounded in an attempted assassination in 1981,in the last years of his life he was affected by several health problems, including cancer and Parkinson's disease

Teri Garr-. 11 December 1949,Multiple sclerosis

Charlton Heston-. 4 October 1924-(mild)Alzheimer's disease.

These are just a few names of the many people who suffer some kind of disability,many of them have became advocates to the cause of disability rights and the respect all of us disabled deserve,due to their names and public faces,they do a great labor and attract other non disabled celebrities to join our causes and fight together,they have a powerful voice for talking about Stem Cell research,MS, Cancer,Parkinson's disease...besides talking about the kind of problems we disabled face,as a disabled I wish nobody else would get some kind of disability,but the fact is that nobody is exempt of being disabled,that is why together all of us could get more attention if we join and talk,if we request for a better life,for a better healthcare and for the possibility of a cure for any of our diseases and physical problems,we must write a new history for disabled people around the world,because no matter what kind of disability we have,all of us are "in the same boat",all of us suffer the same.

For us Disabled people,we really don't discriminate about the many causes of disability,we understand what a disease,an accident or learning disability can limitate to a person,in a way or another all of us suffer the same kind of limitation in a world that is starting to accept in a wider sense that we exist and are alive,that we study and want to work plus have a "normal life",we just need a little help and yes we have "special needs" as Rosemary Kennedy used to say.

Sandra Villanueva.

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Disability Pioneers

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