FARMINGTON — LEAP works to raise awareness about the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities.

Into the 1960s, people who were born with disabilities that made them look, act or sound “different” were often housed in inhumane and unsanitary conditions, in essence “warehoused” in large state-run institutions. Their lives were devalued and they were deprived of dignity, respect and perhaps most importantly, hope. At that time, people with a variety of physical and intellectual disabilities were labeled, and mislabeled, as “mentally retarded.” This included people with physical limitations, no speech, cerebral palsy and mental illness. Causes of these disabilities and disorders were varied, but included genetic or chromosomal syndromes, maternal malnutrition, environmental toxins and low-oxygen births.

Thanks to the leadership of John F. Kennedy, the tide started to turn in 1961, when he convened the President’s Panel on Mental Retardation. Based on the reports of this panel and their blueprint to Congress, in 1963 President Kennedy announced a “bold new approach” to intellectual disabilities. In this era of the cold war and the Cuban missile crisis, a sitting president focusing on the needs of America’s most vulnerable people helped chart a new course for research and community living options for these citizens.

In the 1970s, the movement from large institutions to community settings took off, and the exodus is still occurring institution by institution across the US. In Maine, thanks in part to a class-action law suit, Pineland closed in 1996, and for those individuals who require functional support to live (less than 3 percent of all individuals with IDD), community options are available, but only if funding is available. There is currently a long wait list.

Twenty-five years ago, spurred by advocates across the nation, then-President Ronald Reagan declared March to be Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, urging “all Americans to join me in according to our fellow citizens with such disabilities both encouragement and the opportunities they need to lead productive lives and to achieve their full potential.”

LEAP is a local nonprofit residential service provider who strives to empower individuals to believe in themselves, live healthy and well, make friends and have hope for the future. With March being Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, LEAP is sponsoring a pledge board to remind people that individuals of all abilities have rights and deserve to be a part of our communities.

To sign the pledge, stop by the Central Office at 313 Farmington Falls Road. For more information on LEAP, and to learn more about its mission and services, visit www.leapcommunity.org.

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