Disability activism as volunteerism and parent-oriented organizations such as the March of Dimes began in the 1950s. Disabled children were largely hidden by their parents out of fear of forced rehabilitation. In the 1960s, disability advocates joined the growing civil rights movement and women’s rights movements to promote equal treatment and challenge stereotypes and generalizations, and disability-rights advocacy began to have a cross-disability focus. People with different kinds of disabilities (physical and mental disabilities, along with sight and hearing disabilities) and different needs came together to fight for a common cause.