Stephen Markey

TED 525 – History of Special Education

Dr. Kemper
June 18, 2021

Willowbrook Reflection

Although Geraldo Rivera’s documentary was filmed about 50 years ago, the exposé is

still shocking and unsettling to watch today with as it presents deplorable and squalid

conditions, constant neglect, 30:1 staff ratio, overcrowded resident numbers, poor sanitary

facilities, and physical & sexual abuse. Residents were left to huddle in rooms with little care or

resources. Many of them went naked due to lack of clothing and limited supervision. Many sat

in urine and feces while hepatitis was injected into patients. The movie showed how the system

clearly failed its citizens who were mentally disabled, treating them as less than human –

unclean, unattended, and disregarded.

Willowbrook became a catalyst for change of the deinstitutionalization movement, as

people recognized that those with developmental disabilities had a right to be protected

against harm and cared for in a humane, non-institutional setting. No more “warehousing”, but

rather looking at community residences for the most disabled, and others would be in day

programs levering family and home. People with disabilities are the largest minority in the

United States, but their stores often remain untold. The horrific treatment at Willowbrook will

always be in the minds of people with disabilities and family members, but the movie helped

foster the development of alternate programs today than existed 50 years ago.