The institutionalization, marginalization, and oppression of individuals with mental and physical disabilities are as old as recorded history. The fear, shame, and lack of understanding that have accompanied many disabilities have led to the killing, isolation and mistreatment of disabled people in many, if not most, societies.
Whether disabilities were seen as “unclean,” or as a sign of being out of favor with God, or the person was thought to be possessed or inhabited by a demon or satanic spirit, there has almost never been a positive cause ascribed to physical or mental disability.
I say “almost never,” because there are a few outlying circumstances where epilepsy, for example, is seen in some cultures as someone who is graced with.
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