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Course 5.1 – History of Disability

Categories: Disability, History
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What Will You Learn?

  • Understand how attitudes toward disability have changed across different periods of history
  • Learn how ancient civilizations like Greece, Rome, Egypt and India viewed and treated disability
  • Understand how religious belief in the Middle Ages led to both stigma and community care
  • See how the Industrial Age pushed disability care from families into institutions
  • Learn about the birth of special education, including braille and early deaf education
  • Trace the shift from charity to human rights in the modern era
  • Know key milestones such as Section 504, the ADA and the UN CRPD
  • Connect historical patterns to today's disability rights movement

Course Content

Topic 1: Introduction to History of Disability
This topic sets up why history matters when learning about disability today. Across every era, societies have understood disability in different ways, through myth, faith, institutions and eventually rights. This short introduction explains that the module will trace this journey across time so learners can see how the past still shapes how disability is treated and supported today. By the end of this topic, learners will know what to expect from the module, tracing attitudes across four historical eras, understanding how beliefs, laws and institutions shaped support systems in each period, and connecting these old patterns to today's disability rights movement.

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