International Women’s Day Hero of Invisible Disability Rights – Elaine Wilson:
In celebration of International Women's Day, OutOfExile_IDR honors Elaine Wilson, champion of invisible disability rights and the Olmstead Act. It seems germane, as March is also Developmental Disabilities Month.
During Martin Luther King week, I posted about Lois Curtis, a champion for Invisible Disability Rights (link below). Lois, togather with another woman, Elaine Wilson, fought all the way to the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) for the right to live in the community, rather than being institutionalized. Fighting courageously for their freedom, they won the right to freedom for all people with invisible disabilities. The case is often refered to as the “Brown v. Board of Education” for people with (Invisible) disabilities.
Excerpt below & image of Elaine from:
https://www.olmsteadrights.org/iamolmstead/history/
[“Elaine Wilson became seriously ill when she was one years old. She was hospitalized with a raging fever and it was unclear whether she would survive... When the fever finally broke and Elaine was …sent home, ….Elaine had lost some of her early motor function abilities, such as crawling or even sitting up by herself. The doctors assured Elaine's mother that (it) was only a lingering effect of the illness…. Elaine eventually did recover, but very slowly”.[]
In school, Elaine lagged behind other students having difficulties with focus and learning , eventually being diagnosed with an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) attributed to the prolonged high fever as an infant. Likley, this was the correct diagnosis.
She was reevaluated as a teen upon enrollment at “Gracewood State School and Hospitol” in Georgia. There, she was diagnosed with an ableist slur containing the “R" word, once used in reference to PEOPLE living with Down Syndrome. Providers believed the only recourse was institutionalization. (I am bitting my tongue and holding back my opinions on the lot of it.)
She would spend about a decade living in institutions (State hospitals) against her will. Following that, in the 1980s, she would be “ping-ponged" from care homes to hospitals, back and forth for nearly two decades of her life.
“When I was in an institution, I didn't like myself," Elaine says. "I was trapped. . . . I had no hope. I thought, Oh God, Oh God - When am I ever going to leave here?"
Another hero deserving mention on IWD is Sue Jamieson, the Atlanta Legal Aid Society Attorney who brought the case. Sue and Lois Curtis were joined by co-plaintiff Elaine Wilson, to blaze the path of freedom for countless individuals with disabilities in their wake.
After more than 30 years and 36 psychiatric institutions, at times living homeless and in varous “care homes", Elaine along with Lois Curtis, was victorious and finally free.
The 1997 ruling by Senior U.S. District Judge Marvin H. Shoob said that “… denying the women a community-based life amounted to segregation of people covered by the Americans With Disabilities Act.” Judge Shoob later remarked “They were both so articulate” in regard to the testimony of Elaine Wilson and Lois Curitis.
Elaine passed in 2004 at the age of 53 but, will be forever remembered as a Disability Rights Legend for her resilience, strength and courage. As part of her testimony, she told the court: “When I was in an institution, I felt like I was in a little box and there was no way out”.
Thanks to Elaine Wilson and Lois Curtis, people with invisible disabilities are afforded the right to live in freedom at home, instead of confinement in a “box", cage or institution, merely because of a health issue. Thanks and honor to Elaine, Lois and Sue on this International Women’s Day.
“The Brave and the Strong” Lois Curitis – OutOfExile_IDR:
https://kolektiva.social/@OutOfExile_IDR_Voice/109690867328587920
Elaine’s story continued:
http://www.olmsteadrights.org/iamolmstead/history/item.5405-Elaine_Wilsons_Story_Continued
More on Olmstead and Elaine’s impact:
https://olmsteadrights.wordpress.com/tag/elaine-wilson/
More from disabilityjustice.org:
https://disabilityjustice.org/olmstead-v-lc/
ADA – Community Intergration for Everyone:
https://archive.ada.gov/olmstead/olmstead_about.htm
International Women’s Day Image from:
https://www.desicomments.com/womens-day/international-womens-day-5/
IMAGE CW - (eye contact)
Don't forget the ALT text.
#InternationalWomensDay #ElaineWilson #LoisCurtis #Hero #OlmsteadAct #SueJamieson #SCOTUS #freedom #home #gratitude #CommunityIntergration #DevelopmentalDisabilities #IntellectualDisabilities #BrainInjury #TBI #ABI #AcquiredBrainInjury #MentalHealth #disability #InvisibleDisabilityRights #Hero #DisabilityJustice #EmbraceEquity
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