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Kathy Christoff and Bill Gilkey talk about the changes they have seen in Indiana mental health services since the 1960s. They discuss the development of mental health centers, improvements in medications, and the success of employment programs.…

"The first part of the day I'd be downstairs, the second part they'd carry me up 10 steps, a landing, 10 more steps." Ric Edwards shares the story of his transfer from Culver Military Academy to a school in Spencer, Indiana after he became a…

Mike Furnish, President/CEO of Special Olympics Indiana, was interviewed in 2013. Here he shares a brief history of the creation of the not-for-profit organization that provides sports training and athletic competition for children and adults with…

In 1991, Darcus Nims traveled to Washington D.C. to receive the national Victorian Award for Achievement from President George H. Bush, for overcoming overwhelming challenges in her life. She had lunch at the White House and it was "the first time I…

"I don't know about you, Congressman, but it's important for me to know how to put my pants on every morning to keep my job here," was how John Dickerson paraphrased Congressman John Brademas in a memorable moment. The Congressman from South Bend,…

In 1998, Indiana’s “317 Commision” of consumers, advocates, and state officials published A Comprehensive Plan for the Design of Services for People with Developmental Disabilities, addressing the need for services to support people with…

"We were asking teachers to do some things they had not done before, to interact and support and teach kids that they didn't have a lot of experience doing in the past." An educator and a parent discuss the beginnings of integration of students with…

"Customers come up to me and they'll talk to me like they've known me for years." Cori Mitchell loves her job at a movie theater. As a high school senior in Colorado she was left with a head injury from an automobile accident. Soon after, in 1989,…

"It's been a real adventure, but he just was thrown in the mix with his three brothers." Al and Linda Hublar talk about the lack of support and resources available when their son Mark was born with Down syndrome in the 1960s. They have made a point…

This 1961 photograph shows 16 year-old Byron Smith, a student at University High School in Bloomington, Indiana, surrounded by members of Indiana University's Delta Gamma sorority. Because of his visual impairment, Byron received help with his school…