US Disability: 1960-1970

 Key Events regarding Disability in the US: 1960-1970:

1960: The National Association for Down Syndrome (originally incorporated as the Mongoloid Development Council), the oldest Down Syndrome Parent Organization in the States, was founded by Kathryn McGee, whose Daughter Tricia had Down Syndrome.

1960: The Social Security Amendments of 1960 eliminated the Restriction that Disabled Workers receiving Social Security Disability benefits must be 50 or older.

1960: Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402 (1960), was a landmark United States Supreme Court Case in which the Court affirmed a Defendant's right to have a Competency Evaluation before proceeding to trial.

1961: U.S. President John F. Kennedy appointed a President's Panel on Mental Retardation.

1961: The American National Standard Institute, Inc. (ANSI) published American Standard Specifications for Making Buildings Accessible to, and Usable by, the Physically Handicapped (the A117.1 Barrier Free Standard). This landmark document, produced by the University of Illinois, became the basis for subsequent Architectural Access Codes.

1962: The President's Committee on Employment of the Physically Handicapped was renamed the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped, reflecting increased interest in employment issues affecting people with Cognitive Disabilities and Mental Illness.

1962: Edward Roberts successfully sued to gain admission to the University of California, Berkeley, making him the first Student with Severe Disabilities to attend that School.

1963: Public Law 88-164, also called the Community Mental Health Act, became Law in the U.S., and it authorized Funding for Developmental Research Centers in University affiliated facilities and community facilities for people with Intellectual Disability; it was the first Federal Law directed to help People with Developmental Disabilities.

1963:  South Carolina passed the first Statewide Architectural Access Code in America.

1964: On October 6, 1964, a Joint Resolution of the U.S. Congress, H.R. 753 was signed into law as Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 88–628, and codified at 36 U.S.C. § 142. This resolution authorized the President of the United States to proclaim October 15 of each year as "White Cane Safety Day". President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the first White Cane Safety Day Proclamation within hours of the passage of the Joint Resolution.

1965: Medicare and Medicaid were established through passage of the Social Security Amendments of 1965, providing Federally subsidized Health Care to Disabled and Elderly Americans covered by the Social Security Program. These amendments changed the definition of Disability under Social Security Disability program from "of long continued and indefinite duration" to "expected to last for not less than 12 months."

1965: The Vocational Rehabilitation Amendments of 1965 were passed authorizing Federal Funds for construction of Rehabilitation Centers, expansion of existing Vocational Rehabilitation Programs and the creation of the National Commission on Architectural Barriers to Rehabilitation of the Handicapped.

1965: The National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York, was established by the U.S. Congress.

1965: The Voting Rights Act of 1965 became law in the U.S., and in addition to providing sweeping protections for Minority Voting Rights, it allowed those with various Disabilities to receive assistance "by a Person of the voter's choice", as long as that Person was not the Disabled Voter's Boss or Union Agent.

1966: In Pate v. Robinson, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that a Hearing about Competency to stand trial is required under the Due Process Clause of the Constitution of the United States.

1966: The President's Committee on Mental Retardation was established by U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson.

1966:  "Christmas in Purgatory," by Burton Blatt and Fred Kaplan, was published; it documented conditions at American State Institutions for People with Developmental Disabilities.

1967: The Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution dealing with issues related to Presidential Succession and Disability is ratified. It clarifies that the Vice President becomes President (as opposed to Acting President) if the President dies, resigns, or is removed from office; and establishes procedures for filling a vacancy in the office of the Vice President and for responding to Presidential Disabilities. The Twenty-fifth Amendment was submitted to the States on July 6, 1965, by the 89th Congress and was adopted on February 10, 1967.

1968: The Architectural Barriers Act became law in the U.S., and required all Federally owned or leased buildings to be Accessible to Disabled People. Among other things, it required provision of Disabled-access toilet facilities.

1969:  Wolf Wolfensberger's seminal work The Origin and Nature of Our Institutional Models was published. This book posited that society characterizes people with Disabilities as deviant, sub-human and burdens of charity, resulting in the adoption of that "deviant" role.

1969: The Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 provided compensation for Miners who were totally and permanently Disabled by the Progressive Respiratory Disease caused by the inhalation of fine coal dust - Pneumoconiosis or "black lung".