Now here's a man with nothing to fear! Based on the latest theories of disease, he has protected himself from Cholera in every fashion known. He is wearing a skin of rubber patched with tar, then covered with six yards of flannel. A copper plate covers his heart. He also carries juniper berries, peppercorns, cotton soaked in camphor, smelling salts, a cigar, a mash of peppermint dough, and garments soaked in lime chloride.

Although we (and this illustration) laugh at these attempts at preventive medicine, notice that there is no longer any talk about demonic possession. Illness is no longer a supernatural event.

"The Sick Woman in Bellevue Hospital, New York, Overrun by Rats", 1860, was published in Harper's weekly to illustrate the abysmal conditions in what was supposed to be a sanctuary for the mentally ill.

During the 18th Century, communities built institutions for people "too ill" to care for themselves. Supporters described these in glowing humanitarian terms, but the reality was quite different: no privacy, poor health care, low standards of treatment, abuse, and no freedom.

By the 1700's and 1800's, the "panaceas" mentioned earlier (Theriac and other things) evolved into "patent medicines", as shown in this 1890's advertisement for "Hamlin's Wizard Oil". People have always wanted a concoction that would provide a universal, painless, and certain cure for whatever "ailed" you - in this instance pain. Most patent medicines included alcohol as a major ingredient, plus various things to make them taste "strong", and therefore therapeutic. Some of us remember grandparents who believed that medicine should taste bad to be effective.

People seem to always say "don't talk to me unless you can cure me". In answer to that demand, medical treatment of disability has evolved from the use of supernatural interventions and magic, through quarantine, expulsion and institutional segregation, to the current belief in inclusion and integration. Medical science allows us to reduce the complications of many disabling medical conditions. We can now give people with disabilities lives and independence in ways early doctors could only dream of.

Today, our "Values Based" philosophy tells us that all people can achieve a higher level of productivity and independence if we use our knowledge and technologies well. Reviewing the history of how we came to this philosophy helps us learn from our experiences and not repeat past mistakes.

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