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1967 Symbol designed by Selwyn Goldsmith, Designing for the Disabled.
I recall Paris Metro signs that reserve spaces for “invalides.” I think it once said “war invalids.” At what point were people with disabilities considered part of soci- ety that demanded consideration?
The years after World War II were a major turning point for disabled people. On the one hand, societies throughout history have felt a debt to wounded war veter- ans—a debt that was sometimes but not always paid. But World War II also saw a higher level of medical care than had ever been possible in the past; more soldiers were able to survive previously fatal injuries. And so, veterans with disabilities became more common. These medical advances also meant that more civilians survived life-threatening conditions.
The mortality rate for polio, for example, dropped dramatically at this time, too.
You have to remember that many of these survivors were not born disabled. They took for granted that they had the same right to education, jobs, and housing as their fellow citizens. Those veterans with spinal cord injuries, the many polio survivors, and a host of other people seemed at the time like miracle patients.
1969 Symbol designed by Selwyn Goldsmith, Peter Rea, and students at the Norwich School of Art. The circle over the chest represents pulmonary conditions.
2010 Accessible Icon Project, developed by Sara Hendren and Brian Glenney.
But they were also raised with different expectations for their lives. They never had the sense that they were undeserving or deficient. They didn’t believe that being disabled meant that they also had to give up the right to live full and active lives. They believed they still had something
to contribute, and they asked society to recognize this.
1965 No Barriers logo, from Architectural Barriers: Progress Report, President’s Committee on Employment of the Handicapped.
SOURCES Interview adapted from Steven Heller, “Making Inaccessibility Accessible,” Design Observer, Jan 4, 2018 >designobserver.com/ feature/making-inaccessibility-accessible/39739. Illustrations adapted from Elizabeth Guffey, Designing Disability: Symbols, Space, and Society (London: Bloomsbury, 2018).
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