There is a direct link connecting President Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., to the causes of liberty, consent, choice, the least restrictive environment, and genuine community presence for people with intellectual and related developmental disabilities. This article connects the meaning of liberty in those civil rights movements to the disability rights movement, identifies some of the factors that still inhibit liberty for those with disabilities, and describes the responsibilities and opportunities that professionals have to advance the cause of liberty for those with disabilities.
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