10 Disabled Inventors Who Revolutionized Accessibility
The vast influence of disabled inventors on the world of science, engineering, assistive technology, and many more fields should never be underestimated. Indeed, more notable inventors than you may think overcame their own challenges to make the world better for others.
Scientists with disabilities have made their mark not only in inventions for the disabled community but also in the wider world. Their influence goes to highlight the historical significance of people with disabilities and their many contributions to society.
Top 10 Most Influential Disabled Inventors
Scientists, inventors, and evenathletes with disabilities have shaped a huge number of aspects of modern-day life. Though many of these brilliant people were motivated to inspire change for other disabled people, their influence isn't limited to innovations for the disabled community. Indeed, many of the following inventors contributed to designs that are now part of everyday life.
1. Louis Braille
Braille is one of the world's most famous inventors whose groundbreaking work is still widely used today. Braille was blinded in an accident at age three, but this didn't stop him from becoming an accomplished organist as well as developing a writing and printing system for the blind.
Braille's six-dot code, which symbolizes phonetic sounds in words, gave blind people the chance to read and study and revolutionized accessibility. Braille can still be found in public spaces to help blind people navigate their way independently. Without a doubt, Braille's writing system opened up blind people's access to learning and the pleasure of reading, and widened their possibilities to get around.
2. James C. Marsters
James C. Marsters lost his hearing in childhood due to measles and scarlet fever. As a child, he learned to speak and lip read, meaning he was able to communicate and become a successful student. Despite being deaf from childhood, he qualified as an orthodontist and maintained a successful practice.
Marsters also helped with the development and promotion of the teletypewriter, a device that allows deaf people to communicate over telephone lines. In this system, one person types in a message that is received and printed at the other end.
3. Vint Cerf
Vint Cerf is known as one of the "fathers of the internet" as he, alongside others, designed the early architecture of the internet with the ARPAnet project. Cerf had a hearing impairment, which spurred his desire to develop other ways of communicating.
For this reason, Cerf became involved in the development of emails, describing the comfort he found in the "clarity of text" over voice communication which can be easily misunderstood. Cerf used his disability as a motivation for the development of one of the most ubiquitous modes of communication in the modern world.
Apart from his groundbreaking work in the world of communications, Cerf also advocates for ease of accessibility in new technologies. As he explains, accessibility should be taken into account in the design phase, and as anyone can experience even a temporary disability due to a blocked ear or an injury, there’s really no excuse not to.
4. Chieko Asakawa
Chieko Asakawa became blind at age 14 after a swimming accident. As an adult, she has dedicated her life to creating technology that can help blind people live with the conveniences that able-bodied people enjoy.
During her career, she has pioneered various accessibility projects including:
Developing digital books, with an emphasis on Braille. This allows blind and visually impaired people to read newspapers, articles, and books.
Asakawa was responsible for the development of text-to-speech translations on the internet using a voice browser. This is a feature included on many modern websites and apps to give blind people full access to the text.
Various other accessible technologies have been researched and developed by Asakawa including Cognitive Navigation, which can help visually impaired individuals navigate complex and unfamiliar environments using a smartphone-based system.
Asakawa described her motivation for her work, explaining that "I hope my technology can help the blind to cope with real life and live independently."
5. Ralph Braun
Ralph Braun was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy as a child and started using a wheelchair as a teenager. Braun was a pioneer in the field of mobility and developed groundbreaking mobility devices such as the motorized mobility scooter, wheelchair-accessible vehicles, and wheelchair lifts. This has led to him becoming known as the "Father of the Mobility Movement."
As well as developing devices to allow wheelchair access in private vehicles, Braun also revolutionized wheelchair access on public transport. Buses and vans could finally be outfitted with ramps or wheelchair lifts so everyone had access to public transport.
Braun’s influence on accessibility and mobility continues to this day. As an example, all buses and light rail systems in Denver, Colorado are equipped with wheelchair lifts, ramps, and other accessibility features (as per Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act) to ensure access for all.
6. Stacy Zoern
Stacy Zoern was born with spinal muscular atrophy and has never walked. Zoern helped develop a 100% electric vehicle designed for people in wheelchairs.
With this vehicle, wheelchair users can travel up to 60 miles per day at speeds of up to 25 mph. The vehicle is also totally accessible as drivers enter the car at the push of a button and are able to drive the car while seated in their wheelchairs. This is an important development for wheelchair users as it allows independent travel without help from anyone else.
7. Christian Boer
Christian Boer has dyslexia and was frustrated by the difficulties he faced. Motivated by his own will to learn and inspired by extensive research into how fellow dyslexics could be helped, he developed the Dyslexie font.
Since dyslexics have trouble distinguishing letters and other 2D shapes, the Dyslexie font was designed to help people with dyslexia recognize letters and words more easily. Since the development of Dyslexie, many toy manufacturers have used the font on their toys to help dyslexic children enjoy reading and learning.
8. Farida Bedwei
Farida Bedwei is a remarkable inventor with cerebral palsy. A software engineer by day, Bedwei designed a cloud software platform that simplified micro-banking operations.
This is in addition to her work raising awareness of cerebral palsy through children's books. Bedwei, from Ghana, explains that people often don't have a full understanding of disabilities and saw her chance to introduce a relatable character into the world of children's literature.
Through her books, Bedwei continues to educate children about disabilities and how they shouldn't define or limit you.
9. Sang-Mook Lee
After gaining a science and engineering education, Sang-Mook Lee suffered a car accident that left him quadriplegic. This tragedy didn't stop him from pursuing success in his field though.
The Korean professor is a pioneer in the development of assistive technologies that can help people like him succeed in the classroom and at work.
10. Ralf Hotchkiss
Ralf Hotchkiss is the co-founder of Whirlwind Wheelchairs International, an NGO dedicated to designing and manufacturing wheelchairs for use in developing countries. Using Ralf's designs, people with disabilities in 25 developing nations can build economical but modern wheelchairs using inexpensive materials.
The Torbellino wheelchair is an example of how Ralf's designs can be used to help disabled people across the world by providing an affordable and easily constructed chair.
Other Remarkable Disabled Inventors
Disabled inventors have made a huge mark not only in the accessibility field but in all walks of life. Some of the most famous scientists and inventors throughout history had disabilities.
Thomas Edison
Edison is a man who needs little introduction, being one of the most prolific inventors in history. However, few know that he struggled with hearing loss his whole life, and was practically deaf as an adult.
A long list of inventions are attributed to Edison, from the telegraph to the movie camera. Despite his deafness, Edison plowed on with his work and left behind an unparalleled legacy.
Albert Einstein
Though it can't be categorically proven, many experts believe Einstein had Asperger's syndrome. This is a condition characterized by single-minded interests in certain topics, social awkwardness, and difficulty communicating.
An almost obsessive interest in his field of science may well have worked in Einstein's favor, revolutionizing the world of physics, and the world as a whole, forever.
Jane Goodall
Jane Goodall is a pioneer in animal science and is renowned for her work with primates. As well as raising our understanding of apes, her tireless conservation work has raised awareness about the plight of endangered primates like chimpanzees.
Dr. Goodall has a rare condition called prosopagnosia, otherwise known as face blindness. This makes it very difficult to recognize faces, even if she's met a person many times before.
Disabled Scientists and Inventors Continue to Inspire
Disabled inventors are remarkable not only for the innovations they have brought to the market but also for how they are inspired to help others as a result of their disability. Many of these scientists have overcome personal challenges to develop technologies to improve the everyday lives of people with a wide range of disabilities.
Both disabled and able-bodied people can be inspired by these scientists who don't see disability as an obstacle but as an opportunity. They teach us that with positivism and a can-do attitude, we can achieve anything.