Disabled People’s History
On this page you will find links to information about disabled people’s history. There are some resources produced by Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People and links to other archives, organisations and websites where you can find much more information.
Please note that a number of these do not use the terms that GMCDP and other disabled people’s organisations do, based on the Social Model of Disability. For example, some may say people with disabilities instead of disabled people, or disability to mean impairment rather than the barriers disabled people face. Older records use words that we don’t use at all now, such as handicap.
There is a lot of historical information about organisations which were set up ‘for’ disabled people, such as charities, but we are not concerned about those here. We are focusing mostly on disabled people organising for ourselves and with allies who support us instead of acting for us. A few links are to organisations that are not ‘of disabled people’, but this is because there is information which some people may find interesting.
Some sources are older, but are still very useful. You can follow these up with sources that bring the history of disabled people more up to date. We plan to expand this page in the future. We always welcome people letting us know about other sources, so please do feel free to contact the Disabled People’s Archive. One of our passions is to share knowledge about disabled people’s history!
This page will grow as time goes on. There are so many places that have even hints about our history, as well as more detail. It has not been possible to research them all before launching this website. So, please do not think we have ‘purposefully’ not included your history – let us know!