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In this black and white photograph, Theodore Helping of Indianapolis displays his leather portfolio that won a 1st Prize award at the 1933 State Fair. Fourteen year-old Theodore is wearing a tie and is in a wheelchair. He had been a patient in the…

"Our society told parents at that time, they’re retarded, you don’t want them at home, stick them in an institution, forget that they were born." Three interviewees who worked as staff at Muscatatuck and New Castle State Hospitals in the 1960s and…

Thomas Hancock, age 10 months, with nurse at General Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, October 1946. Thomas entered Muscatatuck State School in 1951, living there until he died in 1981.

“The shot that was heard around the world for people with disabilities,” is how one of Tom Olin’s photographic images has been described. As part of the ADA at 25 Legacy Tour, the Monroe County History Center in Bloomington, Indiana hosted an exhibit…

“Back in the '80s, we didn't think about the Independent Living movement being a civil rights thing.” With the introduction of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) legislation prior to its passage in 1990, says Al Tolbert, “the Independent Living…

"If you've ever seen the movie 'Forrest Gump', my mom was kind of like Forrest's mom." Andy Imlay was born with cerebral palsy in 1979, but his mom made sure he had the same opportunities as a child without disabilities. In the 1980s, Andy was…

In 2016, Betty Williams received the Champions of Equal Opportunity Award from the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities. Betty received the award for her leadership in promoting voting rights, serving on committees…

Bettye Dunham got her start in the disability field in 1975. She was a support person to an Indiana University student needing assistance with note taking and studying. Bettye says, “The things I learned from Chris really endeared me to the field.”…

When Byron Smith was in sixth grade, his mother got a call from his teacher. She said, "Byron is out there on the monkey bars and he's sitting on the top bar and he's not hanging on with his hands." “My mom said, ‘Let him alone. Yes, he may fall.…

“Advocating for disability issues is a broad topic. And when you advocate, you don’t advocate for people with a particular disability, your advocacy affects everyone with a disability,” Christine Dahlberg remarked in 2009. Then Deputy Director of the…