Everyone has a couple of buried skeletons hiding behind their secret closet door. America is no exception. During the mid 20th century, state institutions for individuals with developmental disabilities began popping up all over the country, due in part to the Eugenics movement. These institutions were primarily human warehouses for the “feebleminded.” Eugenics actually began in America and was adapted by Nazi Germany and continued long after Hitler's genocide of 6 million European Jews.

It was believed, at that time, that those with “mental defectives” were inferior and polluting the gene pool. Under the movement, Eugenics attempted to keep these individuals from reproducing by sterilizing and locking them up in state institutions. During the 1920s, early “science” developed I.Q. tests that were used to place individuals into the state's hands, believing that intelligence was inherited.

As I.Q. testing gained social popularity, new research started to suggest that environment played a major role in the scoring process of the I.Q. tests. A child from an unloving, hectic family usually scored low on the test but when placed in a nurturing home, the child could flourish and raise their score. A lot of the children placed in these institutions were not mentally retarded but poor, uneducated with no family or home to call their own.

Today, we are fully aware of the significant role the environment plays in the development of a child.

Mentally impaired individuals and the socially disadvantaged were integrated together in these institutions, receiving much of the same care, deficient support, and cruel treatment. By the 1930s, this was very much socially acceptable and part of the legal system. Stigmas and stereotypes were placed on individuals with disabilities or low I.Q.s. Oftentimes, doctors would advise parents to hand newborns over to the state after birth if there were any disabilities. At that time in American history, little to no supports were available to meet the needs of children with disabilities in schools and homes.

A recent CNN article, “Families Get Help Finding Loved Ones Lost in Institutions,” by Lisa Cohen notes that by 1967, 100,000 children were institutionalized among the 162 state facilities across the United States. Stories of cruelty and mistreatment were rampant and are still remembered by those who survived the institutionalization of thousands of American children. Institutionalized children became victims of sexual abuse, neglect and cruelty. At times, these children were heavily sedated, isolated and restrained. These children grew up believing they did not belong on earth, and they weren't part of the species.

In 1994, Senate hearings established that the Fernald State School for the Feebleminded in Massachusetts institutionalized many children during the Eugenics era, using them as guinea pigs for an experiment conducted by MIT scientists. As part of a “science club,” a selection of children were fed radioactive oatmeal as a nutritional study by Quaker Oats. The children were never informed nore did they give consent to be part of the experiment, even though laws had been established just 10 years before stating the need for consent. Since the experiments became public knowledge, members of the science group have since sued MIT, Quaker Oats and the government, receiving $60,000.

Institutions or human warehouses have begun to close and shut down leaving “medical terms” such as imbecile and moron on state records. By sterilizing and imprisoning individuals with disabilities, America thought they were improving the future, creating a healthier, more intelligent society. Today, individuals with disabilities are living independently, playing strong, active roles in the community.

Amanda Derby is the housing advocate for Options for Independence. She can be reached at 255-3447.