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This 2017 painting by Deaf artist Warren Miller shows William Willard (1809-1888), an important figure in Indiana disability history. In 1843, the Willard School, known today as the Indiana School for the Deaf, opened in Indianapolis with 12…

"She kept finding out that blind students were attending regular public schools in all of the surrounding states and she couldn't figure out why weren't doing that in Indiana," recalls Byron Smith of his mother. Having recently lost his vision due to…

"I'm going to need to go to a college with a very highly rated psychology department." James Martin Cousins, who has autism, was a sophomore at a charter high school in Indianapolis when he was interviewed in 2011. He described his central role in…

This is a photograph of the exterior of the United States Supreme Court building in Washington, DC. The photo was taken on June 7, 2009 by Mark Fischer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/fischerfotos/).

“No children were really served in a community setting, in a public school especially children with moderate to severe disabilities,” explains Pat Barber. Pat received her special education degree in the early ‘70s from Indiana University. She…

“No children were really served in a community setting, in a public school especially children with moderate to severe disabilities,” explains Pat Barber. Pat received her special education degree in the early ‘70s from Indiana University. She…

“If you want to talk about a typical day for a student with a disability, you almost have to talk about what kind of disability to be honest,” explains Nancy Kalina. A former research associate at the Indiana Resource Center for Autism, Nancy worked…

“The day for the kids was pretty packed.” Kim Davis recalls the 1970s, when school aged children with challenging behaviors stayed at the Developmental Training Center (Now the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community) in Bloomington during the…

A little over 30 years ago, a doctor told Sharon Hauss to put her infant son in an institution. Sharon’s response, “He’s my son. I couldn’t do it.” Her son, Michael Ely, went on to be fully included in school. Using part of a script he wrote for the…

Nowana Schroeder joined the staff of the Developmental Training Center (D.T.C.) in 1975. (The D.T.C., at Indiana University in Bloomington, is now known as the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community.) Then Nowana Nicholson, she had a…