Learning

Byron Smith at Rogers Elementary School

This photo shows Byron ("Bikey") Smith in his sixth grade classroom at Rogers Elementary School in Bloomington, Indiana during the 1956-7 school year. When Byron entered Rogers that year, it was the first time a pupil had been transferred to a public…

Like Having a Second Family - Dee Ann Hart on Attending the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Dee Ann Hart discusses her educational opportunities in the late 1960s and the impact her decision to attend the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired had on her and her family. She attended the school for 14 years, entering in 1969.

The Day Was Pretty Packed - Kim Davis on School Days at the Developmental Training Center

In the 1970s, schools systems throughout the state of Indiana sent children with challenging behaviors to the Developmental Training Center (DTC) for educational support and service. Kim Davis, an employee at the DTC during that time, talks about the…

Nobody Asked Me - Darcus Nims on Self-Advocacy

"What do they mean, us kind of people?" Darcus wanted to learn math skills. She wanted to learn how to type. Unfortunately, her teachers would tell her those skills were for "regular" people. When Darcus turned 18, no one asked her what she wanted to…

Transcript: Kim Davis Interview

“The day for the kids was pretty packed.” In the 1970s, school aged children with challenging behaviors stayed at the Developmental Training Center (Now the Indiana Institute on Disabilities and Community) in Bloomington during the week. Their day…

Transcript: Nowana Schroeder Interview

Nowana Schroeder joined the staff of the Developmental Training Center (D.T.C.) in 1975. (The D.T.C., at Indiana University in Bloomington, is now known as the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community.) Then Nowana Nicholson, she had a…

Transcript: Nancy Kalina Interview

“If you want to talk about a typical day for a student with a disability, you almost have to talk about what kind of disability to be honest,” explains Nancy Kalina. A former research associate at the Indiana Resource Center for Autism, Nancy worked…

Bikey Smith with Vice President Richard Nixon

Byron (“Bikey”) Smith, age 8, on the lap of Vice President Richard Nixon during a trip to Washington D.C. in 1953. Byron, then a student at the Indiana School for the Blind, was in the capitol with his parents as the guest of a Chicago television…

Change the Way Students with Disabilities are Handled - Karen Ricci on Advocacy and Education

"I fell through the cracks bad," describes Karen Ricci of her school experience in the '70s and '80s. Karen discusses her challenges in school, such as teachers not having the training to adapt curriculum. Despite the challenges, Karen did go to…

The Power of Parent Advocacy - Pat Howey on Parental Roles in Special Education

"She shouldn't have to be put on a bus and spend 45 minutes on a bus one way to go to school," explains Pat Howey of her daughter's experience at six years old being sent to a school for children with physical disabilities. Pat discusses her…

Transcript: Pat Howey Interview

"She shouldn't have to be put on a bus and spend 45 minutes on a bus one way to go to school," explains Pat Howey of her daughter's experience at six years old being sent to a school for children with physical disabilities. Pat discusses her…

Mark Hublar on Graduation Day

Mark J. Hublar of New Albany, Indiana on the day of his graduation. Hublar graduated Jefferson Community & Technical College in Louisville, Kentucky on May 9, 2016. Hublar grew up in New Albany and graduated New Albany High School in 1983. He…

Mark Hublar at Community College

Mark J. Hublar of New Albany, Indiana in 2014, when he began his studies at Jefferson Community & Technical College in Louisville, Kentucky. Hublar graduated the college on May 9, 2016. He grew up in New Albany and graduated New Albany High School in…

"Blind Asylum"

This black and white photograph shows a view of the Indiana State School for the Blind, now known as the Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. The institution was established in 1847. The building on North Street in Indianapolis was…

Indiana State School for the Deaf's Basketball Team and Coach

The Indiana School for the Deaf in Indianapolis was founded in 1843 and was originally called the Willard School. This black and white photograph shows the school's basketball team and their coach in 1941. The team appears to be getting ready to take…

Ric Edwards - "He's Going to Go to School Here"

"The first part of the day I'd be downstairs, the second part they'd carry me up 10 steps, a landing, 10 more steps." Ric Edwards shares the story of his transfer from Culver Military Academy to a school in Spencer, Indiana after he became a…

The Right to the Same School Opportunities

"We were asking teachers to do some things they had not done before, to interact and support and teach kids that they didn't have a lot of experience doing in the past." An educator and a parent discuss the beginnings of integration of students with…

Byron Smith and Members of Delta Gamma

This 1961 photograph shows 16 year-old Byron Smith, a student at University High School in Bloomington, Indiana, surrounded by members of Indiana University's Delta Gamma sorority. Because of his visual impairment, Byron received help with his school…

Byron Smith - Reading Braille Through Bed Sheets

"Lights Out!" at the Indiana State School for The Blind didn't deter Byron Smith from his love of reading. He entered the Indianapolis school as a seven-year-old in 1951. He had recently lost his vision due to due to congenital glaucoma. In this…

Andrea Pepler-Murray - The Wheelchair Warrior

"He slammed the paper on the principal's table and he says 'Don't tell me that this child is retarded - look at what she's done.'" As a child in Hammond, Indiana, Andrea Pepler-Murray had been placed in segregated special education classes. It took…

William Willard Painting by Warren Miller

This 2017 painting by Deaf artist Warren Miller shows William Willard (1809-1888), an important figure in Indiana disability history. In 1843, the Willard School, known today as the Indiana School for the Deaf, opened in Indianapolis with 12…

Byron Smith - An Eleven-Year-Old Pioneer

"She kept finding out that blind students were attending regular public schools in all of the surrounding states and she couldn't figure out why weren't doing that in Indiana," recalls Byron Smith of his mother. Having recently lost his vision due to…

Jaime Cousins - Mapping Out My Life

"I'm going to need to go to a college with a very highly rated psychology department." James Martin Cousins, who has autism, was a sophomore at a charter high school in Indianapolis when he was interviewed in 2011. He described his central role in…

U.S. Supreme Court Building

This is a photograph of the exterior of the United States Supreme Court building in Washington, DC. The photo was taken on June 7, 2009 by Mark Fischer (https://www.flickr.com/photos/fischerfotos/).

Pat Barber Interview

“No children were really served in a community setting, in a public school especially children with moderate to severe disabilities,” explains Pat Barber. Pat received her special education degree in the early ‘70s from Indiana University. She…

Transcript: Pat Barber Interview

“No children were really served in a community setting, in a public school especially children with moderate to severe disabilities,” explains Pat Barber. Pat received her special education degree in the early ‘70s from Indiana University. She…

Nancy Kalina Interview

“If you want to talk about a typical day for a student with a disability, you almost have to talk about what kind of disability to be honest,” explains Nancy Kalina. A former research associate at the Indiana Resource Center for Autism, Nancy worked…

Kim Davis Interview

“The day for the kids was pretty packed.” Kim Davis recalls the 1970s, when school aged children with challenging behaviors stayed at the Developmental Training Center (Now the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community) in Bloomington during the…

"I Learned Like Everyone Else Did"

A little over 30 years ago, a doctor told Sharon Hauss to put her infant son in an institution. Sharon’s response, “He’s my son. I couldn’t do it.” Her son, Michael Ely, went on to be fully included in school. Using part of a script he wrote for the…

Nowana Schroeder Interview

Nowana Schroeder joined the staff of the Developmental Training Center (D.T.C.) in 1975. (The D.T.C., at Indiana University in Bloomington, is now known as the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community.) Then Nowana Nicholson, she had a…

"I Was a Feisty Mother" - Mary Lou Melloy

“You don’t have the right to deny them the opportunity to try this.” Mary Lou Melloy's daughter, Cindy, was born in 1958. Doctors told the family they should put Cindy in a residential facility. Mary Lou and her husband, Don, had other plans for…

Warren Miller - A Painting Called Barrier

“I believed that the barrier of Alexander Graham Bell that he used the word, he can "fix" Deaf people by using speaking language in a speaking world.” Indianapolis artist Warren Miller explains his painting "Barrier" represents Alexander Graham…

Pat Howey Interview

"She shouldn't have to be put on a bus and spend 45 minutes on a bus one way to go to school," explains Pat Howey of her daughter's experience at six years old being sent to a school for children with physical disabilities. Pat discusses her…

Pat Barber - Segregated Education for Children with Disabilities

“No children were really served in a community setting, in a public school, especially children with moderate to severe disabilities,” explains Pat Barber. Pat received her special education degree in the early 1970s from Indiana University. She…

Bonnie Smith - "Go to School"

“It was wonderful because he felt like he was going to school.” When Bonnie Smith’s family moved to Bloomington, Indiana in the 1960s, a minister from the First United Methodist Church knocked on her door one day informing Bonnie he had found a…

Sandy Braunbeck - Searching for School Opportunities

“Well, they stayed at home, okay, the individuals stayed home.” Mrs. Leona Receveur wished her daughter, who had a disability, could attend school. When Mrs. Receveur tried to find a school for her daughter, she was told to start her own school. Mrs.…

A National Movement Led by Parents

John Dickerson, retired Executive Director of The Arc of Indiana, explains that after World War II, parents across the country began to think differently about the future of their children with disabilities. In 1951, there was a national meeting of…

Pauline Ulrey - Sight-Saving Classroom Experience

“I lost my vision at-- I was 26 months old. I was struck by lightning.” When it was time to go to school, Pauline Ulrey’s ophthalmologist did not want her to go to the Indiana School for the Blind. “I don’t know his line of reasoning, but that was…