In the 1950s and 1960s the Ontario government began a public promotion of the
idea that people who had been labelled with intellectual disabilities should
receive treatment and support services in the institutions. Families were
influenced into thinking that institutions were the best place for their children
because they could receive all the medical and rehabilitation services that they
needed in order to reach their full potential. Here is a link to a clip of a video “One
on every street” produced by the Ontario department of health, which
demonstrates the messaging that parents were given about care for their children
with intellectual disabilities.
http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/dshistory/reasons/index.aspx
By the mid 1970s, the government operated 16 institutions for individuals with an
intellectual disability. At their peak in 1974, more than 10,000 children and adults
lived in them^10.
B. Community Living MovementNot all families believed that institutions were the best places for their children to
thrive. However, the reality was that their choice was between the institutions or
having their children stay at home with no outside services or supports and no
right to attend school. In 1970s Ontario, children who had been labelled with
intellectual disabilities had no right to attend school. Families began to organize
to set up classes for children. They relied on volunteers to teach the children until
the Ontario Ministry of Education began offering education grants for schools for
children who had been labelled with intellectual disabilities. This movement
became known as “Community Living” movement. In Ontario, Community Living
organizations began to expand and eventually formed the Ontario Association of
Retarded Children now known as the Ontario Association for Community
Living^11. The Association grew rapidly in the 1980s. Much of the work done by
(^10) Ibid.
(^11) Online: Community Living Ontario, “About Us” http://www.communitylivingontario.ca/about-us