Category: Living with Disability

It’s been seven years since Enabling Devices featured now 21-year-old McKenzie Tuckson in our catalog. At the time, McKenzie, who has Rett syndrome and is non-verbal, was using several Enabling Devices augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) products to communicate. With these products and the loving support of her family and friends, McKenzie was able to realize her dream–becoming a high school cheerleader.

Recently, McKenzie’s mother Tamara Tuckson, a passionate advocate for people with disabilities, and the founder of Mission2Advocate – an organization that provides IEP consultation and support — checked in to let us know that her daughter is positively thriving. That’s in spite of the fact that when McKenzie was diagnosed with Rett syndrome, doctors predicted an extremely poor prognosis.

“We keep the motto that we don’t let Rett syndrome define us,” says Tamara. “We define it. We just decided to take a different approach to it and let her lead a normal life.”

That said, McKenzie has accomplished more than many of her typically developing peers.

“McKenzie is a six-year varsity cheerleader,” says Tamara. “She was vice president of the junior and senior classes at Whites Creek High School; the 2019 Westley-Rice Student Advocate of the Year for Tennessee; the 2022 Westley Morgan Tennessee Titans Community Hero; and the first non-verbal ambassador for Metro Nashville Public Schools. She is employed at Bubble Love Tea, is an advocate and public speaker, and we just published a book together!”

“McKenzie Can Talk” is a children’s picture book that teaches readers about the wonders of AAC devices. The book highlights Enabling Devices’ products such as the Big Talk, Talkables, Say it Play It and Hip Talk Plus.

“You all [and your products] have been so instrumental in McKenzie’s progress,” says Tamara. “In the book, McKenzie uses the devices in practical situations like saying the prayer at the dinner table, saying ‘trick or treat,’ and wishing her father a happy birthday.” It starts out with McKenzie’s cousins asking her why she can’t talk. A lot of people, especially younger kids, don’t understand. Part of the reason for the book was to show that even though McKenzie can’t talk like they talk, she still has something to say.”

In writing “McKenzie Can Talk,” Tamara hopes to bring information about AAC devices to people who can benefit from them.

“I’ve had so many clients from rural counties that did not know and did not have access to AAC devices or anything that was adaptive,” says Tamara. “A lot of them don’t have speech or occupational therapists. We were blessed because we live in Nashville, Tennessee, and we were able to go to Vanderbilt University to get the therapy. So, that was something that we wanted to give back to them. We wanted them to not only have a great children’s book, but also to know where to get these devices and how they work.”

At the back of the book, readers will find brief descriptions and QR codes for the products featured in the colorful paperback.

Now that “McKenzie Can Talk” is in print, McKenzie and Tamara plan to visit area schools to share the book and McKenzie’s communication devices with students.

“It’s one thing for us to read the book to you, but it’s another thing for you to come to the table and see how these how these devices actually work. Now, we can talk about perseverance, acceptance, access and all of those things, and show them that if McKenzie can do it, you can do it.”

You can order McKenzie’s book at https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/McKenzie-can-talk-McKenzie-tuckson/1146488715.

After 38 years as a tennis coach, Grand Slam pro Felicia Raschiatore of Minnesota is gaining recognition for her efforts to expand the tennis scene in the Twin Cities.

“If I see a niche or a vacancy that something could be added, let’s see if we could do it, and then let’s do it, so more people can play tennis,” Raschiatore told CBS News last month.

Recently, Raschiatore was honored with a Champions of Equality prize for starting the first wheelchair tennis club in her area. Presented at the U.S. Open in September, the second annual Billie Jean King Champions of Equality honors were presented to 15 women who “have led the fight for equality in sports and entertainment.” The awards were presented to winners by none other than women’s tennis icon Billie Jean King herself. As part of the celebration, King was honored with the Congressional Medal of Honor.

While new to the Twin Cities, wheelchair tennis has been around since 1976.  According to the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the sport was founded by Brad Parks, a former U.S. freestyle skier. Wheelchair tennis became a paralympic sport in the Barcelona Paralympics in 1992 and has been growing ever since.

Wheelchair tennis is almost identical to traditional tennis. “There are no modifications to the size of the court, rackets or tennis balls,” says the IPC. “The main differences are the specially designed wheelchairs and the ‘two-bounce rule,’ whereby the ball can bounce twice before being hit.”

Raschiatore’s students couldn’t be happier about the opportunity to play tennis.

As club member Kate Aquila told CBS News, “I’m never happier than when I’m out on the tennis court. I have been playing tennis since I was a little kid, but I came to wheelchair tennis after my spinal cord injury, so kind of revisiting the game in a different way.”

Aquila’s clubmate Susan Banal shares her enthusiasm. “All aspects have been transformative for me in my life at this time,” said Banal, “It’s taught me that I still have that competitive nature, athleticism. I still have that in me in spite of an injury.”

Interested in joining a wheelchair tennis club? Opportunities exist around the country. To find a club in your neck of the woods, check out USTA’s list of programs.

Underestimate Drew Davis at your own peril!

In 2023, the 18-year-old entrepreneur launched Crippling Hot Sauce, a new St. Louis-based business that sells – you guessed it – hot sauces. Davis started the company because “when life gives you cerebral palsy, you make hot sauce.”

Davis, who was born with CP, created a business model for Crippling Hot Sauce for a high school class assignment. When his teacher told him his concept was unrealistic, Davis was determined to prove her wrong. Using $3,000 he had saved from birthday and Christmas gifts, he began making and selling his sauces in local stores. Currently, you can also purchase the sauces on Davis’s website and on Amazon for $9.99 each.

By naming his company “Crippling,” Davis wanted to make a point. “I feel strongly about this name because as much as it’s gotten better, I’ve always felt like people with disabilities get a little special treatment kinda on the baby-ish side,” said Davis in an interview with a local TV station “I wanted to show people that a lot of us have a sense of humor. And with Crippling Hot Sauce, what I always try to explain to people is there’s a lot of difference in the word ‘crippled’ and ‘crippling.’ Crippling is an expression, crippled is a derogatory term.”

Davis also gave a lot of thought to the names of his sauce flavors which include “Limping” (medium hot), “Crippling Agony” (hot), “Just for the Parking” (mild) and “Special Treatment” (smoky bacon).

So far, Davis has sold hundreds of thousands of bottles of the highly-rated sauces. He also sells “Crippling” merchandise such as T-shirts and sweatshirts. Sauces are available in bundles of three, five and six. Customers can choose between the Crippling Decisions Variety Pack (5 bottles); Half a Dozen Handicaps (6 bottles); and the Triple Cripple (3 bottles.) For every bottle sold, Davis donates 5% to cerebral palsy research.

The young entrepreneur is philosophical about his success. “I live my life like a story, one page at a time. I treat my doubters like an antagonist in the story and go from it that way.”

Why not gift the spicy food lovers in your life a bottle or a bundle of bottles for the upcoming holiday season? Check out thecripplingcompany.com for more information.

Writer, editor, and disability justice activist Alice Wong can add MacArthur “Genius Grant” winner to her already incredibly impressive resume.

On October 1, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, announced that Wong, founder of the Disability Visibility Project, was one of 22 “creative and inspiring” individuals to win the prestigious “no strings attached” fellowship.

Wong, 50, was born with spinal muscular atrophy, a condition that causes muscles to weaken and atrophy. One of three daughters born to parents who immigrated to the United States from Hong Kong, Wong grew up in Indianapolis. In her twenties, she relocated to the Bay area of California where she earned a master’s degree in medical sociology from the University of California, San Francisco.

Over the years, Wong has used her platform to bring awareness to systemic ableism and to highlight the diverse experiences of people with disabilities.

According to the Mercury News, the Disability Visibility Project began as an oral history project in partnership with NPR’s StoryCorps, but has since grown to include “a podcast, a blog, social media, arts projects and spaces for connection and community building.”

In addition to creating the Disability Visibility Project, Wong has published two anthologies of essays including Disability Visibility (2020) and Disability Intimacy (2024). Her memoir, Year of the Tiger: An Activist’s Life, was published in 2022.

Wong has also spearheaded disability movements such as #CripTheVote, a nonpartisan campaign that encourages political candidates to engage with the disability community around issues of concern to them. She has advocated for continued masking in healthcare settings and for keeping plastic straws in restaurants for disabled individuals who need them.

In a video produced for the MacArthur Foundation, Wong explained that she wants “to change the way people think about disability from something one-dimensional and negative to something more complex and nuanced. There’s such diversity, joy and abundance in the lived disabled experience. We are multitudes,” said Wong.

As a MacArthur fellowship recipient, Wong will receive $800,000 over five years, to use in any way she sees fit. According to Marlies Carruth, Director of the MacArthur Fellows Program, the fellowships are meant “to cultivate the next generation of innovators; highlight the importance of imaginative thinking in creating objects of beauty that inspire; spotlight the value of risk-taking in addressing deep-rooted societal problems; and influence how people think of creativity.”

We can’t wait to see what’s next for Wong!

Whether you’re seeking entertainment, education or community, podcasts offer unique opportunities for enrichment.

There are many excellent disability-themed podcasts with new ones airing all the time.  We scoured the internet to discover what’s newer and notable on the disability podcast front. Here’s what we discovered.

1. Two Moms, No Fluff
Listeners will undoubtedly appreciate hosts Alma Schneider and Iris Mehler’s honest take on the realities of parenting disabled children. Schneider, a clinical social worker and mother to a child with Prader-Willi Syndrome, and Mehler, a certified rehabilitation counselor whose daughter has cerebral palsy, cover a wide range of topics of interest to parents and caregivers.

2. Telling It Our Way
If you like storytelling, you’ll love public radio station WGTE’s “Telling It Our Way,” a podcast that presents stories written and performed by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Story topics include love, work, grief and much more.

3. I Was a Wheelchair Kid
A joint project of FacingDisability.com, a website for families facing spinal cord injury and the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, this brand-new podcast tells the stories of children and teens who suddenly became paralyzed. “No boring lectures here,” reads the podcast’s website, “just real-life stories and funny moments about returning to school, finding ways to feel ‘normal’ again, beginning to date and creating a new vision of the future for themselves—and much more.”

4. “The Accessible Stall”
Hosted by Kyle Khachadurian and Emily Ladau, “The Accessible Stall” features lively and thought-provoking discussions about a wide range of issues that affect the disability community. According to the hosts, “our disability podcast challenges views and expectations. We ask tough questions that try to dig deep into the why behind the issues.”

5. Uniquely Human
Based on the book by the same name, “Uniquely Human” includes interviews with autistic and neurodiverse individuals and experts in the field of autism research. Hosted by Barry Prizant and Dave Finch, this podcast provides practical, thoughtful and frontline information about autism.

6. Disabled and Proud
Adaptive athlete Brooke Millhouse hosts this uplifting but honest podcast that deals with a wide range of disability issues. Guests include disability activists, nonprofit leaders and artists.

7. Access All: Disability and Mental Health
Brought to you by the BBC, Access All is a weekly podcast that presents the latest news on wellness, mental health and disability.  A recent episode was titled “Inside M15 with an autistic intelligence officer,” and other shows focused on Paralympics 2024 coverage and accessible housing.

A new scholarship and mentoring program is enabling more students with disabilities to pursue college degrees in fashion and careers in the fashion industry.

The Parsons Disabled Fashion Student Program, a collaboration between New York City’s Parsons School of Design and Tilting the Lens—a consultancy that helps clients create accessible solutions—a provides students with tuition, living expenses, mentoring from fashion industry insiders, and other types of assistance. The program’s aim is to make the prestigious design school and the fashion industry itself, more inclusive and equitable.

Until recently, the fashion industry was notorious for excluding or ignoring the disabled community. And while inclusive and adaptive clothing has become increasingly available, the industry was still mostly closed to disabled fashion creatives. According to its website, Parsons, which is affiliated with Greenwich Village’s The New School, is “committed to breaking down these barriers to provide access to fashion education and careers and, by doing so, helping the industry reach its full creative potential.”

Ben Barry, Dean of Parsons School of Design, spent three years working to get the program off the ground. Since being appointed dean in 2020, Barry, who identifies as disabled, has made a commitment to social justice in fashion.

Parsons’ program of study reflects that commitment. For example, the school offers courses such as “Indigenous Fashion; Fat Fashion: Design for Large Bodies; Blackness and Fashion; Fashion and Disability Justice; Latin American Fashion; Sensory Design; and Fashion and the Land.”

Students in the program can expect to be mentored by disabled fashion designers such as Sky Cubacub, who has an invisible disability, and Sugandha Gupta, who has Albinism. High fashion model Aaron Rose Philip who has cerebral palsy and has worked with designers such as Versace and Moschino, also serves as a mentor.

Scholarship money for the new program will be provided by retail giant H&M, and the Ford Foundation, a leading voice in disability philanthropy, will conduct research on disabled students’ fashion school experiences. Parsons says that the program is open to any disabled student “with a passion to design fashion to bring their fresh and diverse perspective.”

The Parsons Disabled Students Program isn’t the college’s first foray into disability justice. Several years ago, Parsons partnered with Open Style Lab, a nonprofit “dedicated to creating functional, wearable solutions for people of all abilities without compromising style.”

As this blog reported in 2021, “among OSL’s most important offerings is the accessible design course it provides through its collaboration with Parsons School of Design. OSL Academy provides classes and experiential learning opportunities that teach students about disability, accessibility, adaptive fashion and universal design.”

Parsons has also partnered with the Special Olympics to create inclusive apparel for athletes. Regarding the partnership, Brendan McCarthy, Systems and Materiality BFA Program Director at Parsons, told Mission magazine, “it can be used as a model for fashion and athletic/performance design houses, businesses more broadly and educational institutions to re-think how they approach critical issues around equity, inclusion [and]social justice…”

We all know the saying, “Parenting doesn’t come with a handbook.” That couldn’t be more true when you’re raising a child with disabilities. While parenting any child is a journey into the unknown, parenting a special needs child can be especially bewildering.

When challenges inevitably arise, it’s wise to consult with professionals and to seek support from friends and family. But there are also a great many books that provide advice and helpful hints for parents of children with special needs.

Here are some recommendations of new books that may offer valuable guidance for your parenting journey.

1. “Everything No One Tells You About Parenting a Disabled Child: Your Guide to Essential Systems, Services and Supports” (Hatchett Go, March 2024)
By Kelley Coleman
Written by a parent with 10 years of experience caring for a child with multiple disabilities, “Everything No One Tells You…” provides critical information in a style that’s accessible, humorous and warm. Perhaps that’s why it has a five-star rating on Amazon!

2. “Normal Schmormal: My Occasionally Helpful Guide to Parenting Kids with Special Needs (HarperCollins, July 2023)
By Ashley Blaker
How can you go wrong with a title like this? Part memoir, part self-help book, “Normal Schmormal” offers an honest view of what it’s like to parent kids with special education needs. Blaker should know. He’s the father of six kids, three of whom have SENs.

3. “Becoming Brave Together: Heroic, Extraordinary Caregiving Stories from Mothers Hidden in Plain Sight” (The Unknown Authors Club, May 2024)
By Jessica Patay and 10 contributing authors
This hot-of-the-press anthology includes essays by mothers who are deep in the trenches of raising children with a variety of disabilities. As author and reviewer Jennifer Pastiloff writes “Becoming Brave… is a gorgeous compilation of what it means to be human; how much we need one another, and a testament to the tenacity of not just the human spirit, but of love itself.

4. “Parenting at the Intersections: Raising Neurodivergent Children of Color” (Chicago Review Press, Jan. 2024)
By Jaya Ramesh and Priya Saaral
Parents raising neurodiverse children of color face unique challenges. This informative and important reference offers hope for parents with children who face discrimination on dual fronts.

5. “How to Build a Thriving Marriage as You Care for Children with Disabilities” (May 2024)
By Kristin Faith Evans and Todd Evans Ph.D.
Parenting children with special needs places a great deal of stress on a marriage. This book provides practical evidence-based ways to protect and strengthen your marital relationship.

6. “Parenting Autistic Children: Navigating the Spectrum (Independently Published, April 2024)
By Michael Stevens
In this new guide, Stevens offers practical and effective tools for all aspects of parenting a child on the autism spectrum including “managing melt-downs, navigating the healthcare and education systems, and creating a sensory haven.”

7. “Learning the Language of Autism: An A to Z Guide for Parents and Teachers” (Amazingly Uplifted, July 2024)
By Veronica Crafton
This important new reference illuminates concepts, jargon and definitions about autism, making it easier for parents and teachers to collaborate on the educational needs of their children and students.

If you’re under the widespread misconception that living with a disability means living without romance, Katie Mettner’s novels will surely change your mind.

After she became disabled by a ski accident that eventually led to the loss of her lower leg, Katie Mettner, a voracious reader from Rice Lake, Wisconsin, was frustrated that she couldn’t find novels featuring characters with disabilities. So, she decided to write one herself.

“I was like, okay we got to do something about this,” Mettner told CBS-News Minnesota reporter Susan-Elizabeth Littlefield during a recent interview.

“We have to write a story that actually talks about what it’s like to have a disability and that you are just a normal person. And you can fall in love, and you can have an epic love story because in the end all we want is a love story.”

Mettner’s first romance/mystery novel, “Sugar’s Dance” was published on Amazon in 2011. Like Mettner, the book’s main character “Sugar” is an amputee. And you’d better believe her disability doesn’t keep her from finding true love. Though Mettner never planned to write more than one novel, readers’ reactions to the book propelled her to keep writing.

“They wanted to tell me their stories, but they also wanted me to tell their stories,” she explained in a video interview. So, Mettner kept writing.

“Sugar’s Dance” turned out to be the first in a series of five books. To date, Mettner has published 61 novels and has 10 additional books awaiting publication.

“I write [my books] so that people with disabilities can feel represented and also so people without disabilities can read them and learn about people-first language, different disabilities and how they can approach people in their community,” Mettner said on CBS. In fact, Mettner’s website, katiemettner.com, includes a guide to people-first language as well as information about disability resources.

In 2023, Mettner caught the attention of an editor from world-renown romance publisher Harlequin, during the company’s “Romance Includes You” pitch event. The event was part of Harlequin’s efforts to increase diversity and representation in the romance genre. Now, Mettner has a contract with Harlequin Intrigue, a Harlequin imprint that focuses on crime and justice stories. Her new book, “Going Rogue in Red Rye County,” is currently being featured for Disability Pride Month 2024. The novel tells the story of undercover agent Mina August, who uses a leg brace, and must work with her ex-partner to solve a dangerous mystery.

Other featured novels on Harlequin’s list include the following picks:

• “Reunited with Her Off-Limits Surgeon” by Amy Ruttan
• “Caring for Her Amish Neighbor” by Jo Ann Brown
• “Agent under Siege” by Lena Diaz
• “Connection Error” by Annabeth Albert
• “Brought Together By a Pup” by Sue MacKay

For more information on these books, visit Harlequin.

For more information on Katie Mettner, visit katiemettner.com.

Summer arrives this week and many parents are scrambling to come up with ideas for keeping their kids busy. It can be especially challenging to find activities for children with disabilities since far too many places are inaccessible. If you live near an accessible or inclusive playground, you’re way ahead of the game.

Though playgrounds that accommodate children with disabilities don’t exist in all areas of the country, they are becoming more common. Some parents and organizations fundraise so that they can build them in their communities.

Have questions? Here are some facts about accessible and inclusive playgrounds including information about where they can be found across the United States.

1. Why are playgrounds so important?
Playgrounds offer critical opportunities for physical, social and intellectual development. Playground activities help children to develop physical strength, balance and motor coordination and provide sensory stimulation. They also give children countless opportunities for social interactions that teach empathy, sharing, turn-taking, cooperation and other social skills. Playgrounds are a place where children can practice intellectual skills such as language, problem solving, spatial relations, memory, attention, and critical thinking.

2. What is an accessible playground?
According to the National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD) “an accessible playground ensures that all areas and equipment can be accessed or reached by children or adults with physical disability who use wheelchairs or other types of mobility devices… Accessibility should be taken into account in relation to the design and construction of the playground structure.”

3. What is an inclusive playground?
“An inclusive playground considers not just physical access, but also emotional, social, and psychological benefits of play,” says NCHPAD. “It encompasses the philosophy that children and adults of all abilities benefit immensely from being able to play and interact together. In addition to ramps, accessible swings, and play panels, an inclusive playground may also feature sensory walls, quiet sensory gardens, water play or splash pads, and more.

4. Where can I find an inclusive or accessible playground in my area?
New accessible and inclusive playgrounds are being built all the time so it’s difficult to find an up-to-date list of all of them. However, we did come across a  list of the 10 U.S. cities with the most inclusive playgrounds per 10,000 people. Pittsburgh, PA tops the list with 3.28 per 10,000. Other cities on the list include Albuquerque, NM; Arlington, VA; Lincoln, NE; Irving, TX; Baton Rouge, LA; St. Paul, MN; Atlanta, GA; Irvine, CA; Plano, TX. If your city isn’t on the list, some exploring on the internet should help you find the nearest inclusive playground to your home or vacation spot.

5. How can I bring an inclusive playground to my community?
Some communities initiate fundraising campaigns to build inclusive playgrounds and many are successful. Campaigns include a variety of fundraising strategies including crowdsourcing; special events; individual donors; corporate donors; and grants. To learn more, visit playworld.com.

Thirty-four years after the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act, full access to public transportation remains a major obstacle for many disabled individuals. The situation in New York City is especially dire.

According to The New York Times, “New York has lagged far behind other major American cities in building access points for people with disabilities.”

Case in point: One in 15 New York City residents has difficulty walking, yet only 31% of New York City’s subway stations have elevators or ramps. In a city where the subway is the most practical and inexpensive way to get around, this status quo leaves hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities with no viable means of transportation. Making matters worse is the fact that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) does little to maintain the elevators it does have. A 2024 assessment by The Rudin Center for Transportation at New York University found that existing elevators break down “approximately 25 times a day, with a 4-hour median repair time.”

As if that wasn’t bad enough, many stations have gaps between trains and platforms that are too wide for wheelchair users to safely get on or off trains. The gaps also endanger riders with visual impairment.

According to Gothamist, “the push to make the subway system more accessible began in earnest in the 1980s, when Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association (now known as United Spinal Association) sued the MTA to force a $150 million modernization program for about 50 stations to include more access for riders with disabilities.”

Eventually, that lawsuit resulted in the installation of elevators in 10 subway stations.

Since then, the MTA has been sued by disabled riders and disability rights groups on numerous occasions. For decades, the transportation authority has chosen to pay legal fees and cash settlements instead of doing the work necessary to make subways accessible.

But MTA policy may finally be changing.

After settling two lawsuits in 2022, the MTA has pledged to add elevators and ramps to 95% of the city’s 472 stations by 2055. In June 2022, The New York Times explained that the settlement called for the transportation authority to “make an additional 81 subway and Staten Island Railway stations accessible by 2025… another 85 stations accessible by 2035, 90 more by 2045 and then 90 more by 2055.” Funding for the projects will come from the MTA’s capital budget.

As Sasha Blair-Goldensohn, a wheelchair user and disability advocate told AmericanCityandCounty.com: “This settlement builds on decades of work by countless disability rights advocates, activists and allies, like the Rise and Resist Elevator Action Group, telling everyone at court hearings and MTA board meetings the simple truth: ‘Elevators Are For Everyone.’ With this settlement, future New Yorkers and visitors—disabled and non-disabled alike—will ride one subway system together.”

A new exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOA) showcases the work of developmentally disabled artists from the Creative Growth studio in Oakland, California.

On view through Oct. 6, 2024, “Creative Growth: The House That Art Built” celebrates the 50^th anniversary of the studio — the first visual arts organization in the United States to support the work of artists with developmental disabilities.

The exhibition encompasses work created between 1981 and 2021, including acrylic paintings, pastel drawing, ceramics sculpture and film by artists Joseph Alef, Camille Holvoet, Susan Janow, Dwight Mackintosh, John Martin, Dan Miller, Donald Mitchell, Judith Scott, William Scott, Ron Veasey, and Alice Wong. Also on display are materials that document the history of Creative Growth and the organization’s influence on the disability, arts, and disability arts movements. In addition, SFMOMA commissioned a new piece by William Scott that’s installed at the entry to the museum’s second floor galleries.

Creative Growth was founded by artist Florence Ludin-Katz and her husband Elias Katz, a psychologist, in 1974 after the deinstitutionalization movement left many people with developmental disabilities without the support they needed to thrive in their communities. The Katzes believed that making art helped people with developmental disabilities find inner peace as well as outward acceptance by others who could appreciate their work.

“…Each person has the right to the richest and fullest development of which he is capable,” said the Katzes on SFMOMA’s website. “Only then can society reach its fullest potential … Creativity is a vital living force within each individual.”

According to The New York Times, “Creative Growth: The House That Art Built,” includes approximately 80 works by 23 artists associated with Creative Growth, and affiliated Bay Area organizations Creativity Explored and NIAD (Nurturing Independence Through Artistic Development). Both affiliated organizations were also founded by the Katzes.  “The exhibition draws from SFMOMA’s half-million-dollar acquisition of more than 100 Creative Growth artworks, the largest purchase by any American museum of the work of disabled artists,” said theTimes.

While New York City museums such as the Brooklyn Museum and the Museum of Modern Art have acquired a few pieces by artists with developmental disabilities, they are typically shown only as part of “special displays,” says The New York Times art critic, Jonathan Griffin. He contends that what SFMOMA is doing is ground-breaking.

“The acquisition is part of a partnership with Creative Growth through which the museum, led since 2022 by the director Christopher Bedford, pledges to introduce more art by developmentally disabled people from the three Bay Area organizations into its collection displays, and consequently into the canon of modernist art history.”