Those of us who live in the United States have grown up learning about the various eras, movements, and events that have shaped this nation. More and more we are discovering that many people have been removed from our collective studies. While history classrooms all over the country are learning about events like the European settlement all the way to the Great Depression, few turn their attention to how the major change points of U.S. history have impacted people living with various impairments and even shaped the way we define disability in our culture.

This workshop gives participants a practical introduction to the principles of Social Role Valorization. Through a combination of multimedia presentation and small group discussion, participants will learn about the phenomenon of social devaluation. This event includes discussion of how people with disabilities and other devalued groups have been systematically hurt and harmed by society, and what the impact of that devaluation has been. Participants will also learn about ways to help people have better lives by supporting them to achieve positive valued social roles. We will discuss practical strategies to make this a reality for the people you support.

The history of society’s treatment of people with mental disorders reveals, time after time, that backsliding almost always follows progress in our understanding and response to people with mental differences. Periods of enlightenment have been followed by periods of darkness, with long stretches of neglect in between. On the heels of brutality and some of the worst abuses of people with mental illness, the reformation of the Moral Treatment movement in the 19th century was responsible for some of the greatest outcomes in the lives of people living with psychiatric disorders during that time.