For decades, people with developmental disabilities have been segregated, institutionalized, and stripped of dignity and human rights, demonstrating the vital importance of the fight for disability rights. Although strides have been made, thousands remain confined within these government-sanctioned purgatories. Now, we are confronted with a new, more capitalistic approach to exploitation, and in Silent No Longer: Advancing The Fight for Disability Rights, I expose a new and deeply troubling threat: the insidious encroachment of private equity into disability services.

These firms, driven not by mission but by margin, are quietly acquiring disability providers across the country. They cloak their takeovers in the language of efficiency and innovation, but behind closed doors, corners are cut, staff are underpaid, and care is compromised. Their only concern is to deliver returns to investors.

As someone who has spent over 40 years fighting for independence and dignity for people with disabilities, I contextualize the private equity takeover, offer an alternate way forward, and call policy makers to action. Human lives cannot be commodified. The disability community deserves more than passive concern. My book incites readers to make an unflinching commitment to justice and the fight for disability rights. — Robert Stack

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In the United States in 2020, there were more than 8 million people with an intellectual or developmental disability.

My entire career has focused on supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, so I am often asked: “What is your definition of disability?” In simple terms, it is a trait that limits a person’s cognition or independent functioning. Examples include people with intellectual disabilities, such as Down syndrome or autism, and others who have exclusively developmental disabilities, such as cerebral palsy or spina bifida.

Another term that I use a lot in this book deserves clarification: institution. A wider definition refers to just about any religious, educational, or social organization, including prisons, for instance. In the book, I use what we call the burrito definition—if you are unable or not permitted to leave the house at three in the morning to go buy a burrito, chances are you are either a child or living in an institution, underscoring the importance of the fight for disability rights. In my world, institutions are where people’s dignity of choice and freedom go to die.

Read the full article about the fight for disability rights by Robert Stack at Stanford Social Innovation Review.