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When he arrived in South Bend in 1980, the field of rehabilitation in Indiana "was in desperate need of some rapid growth," recalls George Soper. George had moved from Iowa, where he completed a doctoral work in the area of rehabilitation. Having…

This photograph shows disability advocates Gary and Sharon Byrkett attending a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act at the Indianapolis Artsgarden on July 26, 2000.

"That's not a real guy," recalls Frank of a conversation he overheard in high school after asking a girl out. Fortunately, this didn't stop Frank from dating. Frank says there was a stigma to being in a wheelchair in high school. He was proud to be…

When Frank Epperson's van was pulled over by the Southport, Indiana police in 1988, it wasn't about a broken taillight. They wanted to give him an official escort upon his triumphant return from the Paralympics in Seoul, South Korea. Frank competed…

This photograph shows ADA advocates Suellen Jackson-Boner, Christine Dahlberg, Greg Meyer, and Ric Edwards (in front) at Monument Circle, Indianapolis on June 18, 2015. The ADA at 25 Legacy Tour bus is shown in the background. At the time, Edwards…

This is an undated photograph associated with the institution known as Indiana Asylum for Feeble Minded Children (1879 - 1931) or the Fort Wayne State School for Feeble Minded Youth (renamed in 1931). The photograph depicts boys and young men in what…

In 1887 Indiana state legislators enacted a law providing for the establishment of the Indiana School for Feeble Minded Youth in Fort Wayne, one of the first institutions in the nation serving people with intellectual/developmental disabilities.…

Erika Steuterman visited the Indiana State Archive in 2013, as a way to face the difficult memories of visiting her older brother at Central State Hospital (Indianapolis) in the 1960s and 1970s. In this video, Erika shares some of those memories, and…

"I'm one who has educational conversations about dwarfism with the world." In this excerpt from a 2017 interview, Columbus, Indiana resident Ethan Crough discusses the portrayal of people with dwarfism in popular media, depictions that have…

A photograph of Columbus, Indiana resident Ethan Crough in front of the Commons, 300 Washington Street in Columbus on May 15, 2016. Ethan has been employed as a school administrator and an actor, among other professions. He has been active as a board…