title: Politics and policy in the history of the disability rights movement.
abstract: Although the disability rights movement consists of a small portion of all Americans with disabilities, activists have pressed claims on behalf of that entire population. The nascent movement in the early and mid-1970s drew upon policy goals of other civil rights movements, particularly at the federal level, to gain political and legal objectives. Disability rights activists achieved mixed results over the past decade despite joining broader coalitions to fight social budget cuts and a conservative civil rights agenda. If the disability rights movement is not yet fully autonomous and faces an uncertain future, it has established itself as a presence in American social welfare politics.
authors.affiliation: School of Social Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson 75083-0688.
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Scotch
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D001107:Architectural Accessibility; D002961:Civil Rights / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D003255:Consumer Organizations; D006233:Persons with Disabilities; D006076:Government; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D011057:Politics; D011640:Public Policy; D012947:Social Work; D014481:United States