The Convergence of Disability Law and Policy: Core Concepts, Ethical Communities, and the Notion of Dignity
Interview with Rud Turnbull
Produced by Minnesota Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities
In writing a model law, in implementing the law and regulations, in discussing and explaining the intended effect and the actual effect of statutes, in confronting law and policy, in designing and delivering programs and services, there are people involved, there are lives that are affected. So the very first thing that needs to be talked about is personhood.
Throughout Rud Turnbull's teachings and writings about the 18 core concepts of disability policy, and as those concepts relate to the Americans with Disabilities Act, IDEA and its predecessors, assistive technology, family support, and aversive therapies, he speaks about relationships – those that are created and those that are challenged when people are forced to confront each other.
In all of his research on United State Supreme Court decisions and federal laws, Rud Turnbull finds one ethical principle that is interwoven throughout those decisions and statutes – the notion of dignity.
Bio: Rud Turnbull, Distinguished Professor in Special Education and Courtesy Professor of Law, University of Kansas, is the Co-founder and Co-director of the Beach Center on Disability. He has authored more than 300 peer reviewed books, articles, chapters, and monographs. He has served as an officer of nearly all major national disability organizations, including AIDD, The Arc, and TASH; as well as chair of the American Bar Association Commission on Disability Law, and Trustee and Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law.
Introduction
Background About the ADA
The ADA: The Human Condition in a Policy Context
A Model Statute for Special Education
The Conceptual Framework of P.L. 94-142
Assistive Technology Act
Family Support and IDEA
A Family First Initiative
The Human Genome Project and Disability
Parent to Parent Program and Family Support
Jay Turnbull, Our Best Professor
Aversive Therapy: The "Learning to be Better Box"
Future Disability Issues
Six Elements of the Parent-Professional Relationship
Five Models of Thinking about Developmental Disabilities
Confronting Law and Policy
The Affective Side of Public Policy
The Notion of Dignity