{"id":7607,"date":"2015-09-18T16:44:59","date_gmt":"2015-09-18T20:44:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smartsignblog.com\/blog\/?p=7607"},"modified":"2024-06-07T07:29:17","modified_gmt":"2024-06-07T11:29:17","slug":"adoption-of-new-disability-signage-spreads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/adoption-of-new-disability-signage-spreads\/","title":{"rendered":"Adoption of new disability signage spreads"},"content":{"rendered":"

Advocacy groups and lawmakers around the country have undertaken efforts at the state and city level to revamp the traditional \u201chandicapped\u201d or accessibility signage. In a statement from the Governor\u2019s office celebrating the change, New York assemblywoman Sandy Galef, who was involved in efforts to update signage in New York state, explained: \u201cThe disability community is hindered by outdated language and symbols that stigmatize them and align them with a negative connotation or an image of immobility.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Accessible

With a petition on the books at Change.org<\/a>, adoption of Hendren and Glenney’s redesigned International Symbol of Access is catching on in the U.S.<\/p><\/div>\n

The advocacy paid off; last year state lawmakers adopted a change<\/a> to the disabled\/handicapped signage, making New York the first state to make such a shift at the statewide level. The new sign does away with the word \u201chandicapped\u201d and also features a more dynamic picture.<\/p>\n

While the new picture is reminiscent of the old version in that it retains the blue background and white outline of a person in a wheelchair, the new version evokes motion. That seemingly simple shift means a lot to a lot of people. \u201cI think a sign can change people. A sign stands for something. It means something to people,\u201d said Frank Camarata, who runs the Erie County Office for the Disabled. The change was approved in July, 2014.<\/p>\n

Now other states and municipalities are following suit. This year in Minnesota, high school student Hope Hoffman, who has spina bifida, is leading a charge to remove the words \u201chandicapped,\u201d \u201cdisability,\u201d and \u201cdisabled\u201d from parking, bathroom, and entrance signs. Her message: those words, she says, are \u201cmarginalizing\u201d and evokes images of someone who is \u201cbroken down, incapable, and powerless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoffman thinks we should refer to \u201cpeople first,\u201d and also points out that not everyone who uses designated accessibility spaces has a disability. \u201cWomen who are pregnant, the elderly, [and] a lot of people recovering from injuries\u201d also use them. Hoffman\u2019s father is a state senator and her aunt is a state representative, and they are, respectively, sponsoring the bill in Minnesota on Hoffman\u2019s behalf.<\/p>\n

A similar push is underway in Connecticut, where advocates are pushing for a statewide change to current signage. The campaign is called \u201cChange the Sign. Change the Attitude\u201d and has elicited widespread support from an online signature drive via Change.org. The proposed sign uses the word \u201creserved\u201d instead of \u201chandicapped\u201d or a version of \u201caccessible.\u201d Like the New York signage, the proposed sign in Connecticut also features an image of a person moving<\/em> in a wheelchair. Campaign language explains: \u201cThis issue is not about changing a sign. It is about changing expectations. It\u2019s not about changing the community for a few of us. It is about improving the community for all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the campaign in Connecticut is limited to that state, many people who signed the Change.org petition are from other states. A signer from Florida commented: \u201cThe term handicapped paints a picture of someone less whole,\u201d while another signer from Massachusetts wrote, \u201cThis is a small and easy change that can make big waves when it comes to attitudes and perceived notions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, this movement is not limited to the states that have already adopted or are undergoing legislation, and it didn\u2019t simply crop up last year with the bill in New York. The Accessible Icon Project started in 2010 as \u201ca guerilla street art campaign\u201d that involved spraypainting\u00a0a redesigned icon\u00a0on top of existing parking signs and stencils. (The sticker features a symbol that is strikingly similar to the one adopted in New York and proposed in the municipality of New Haven.)<\/p>\n

The project is based on founders Sara Hendren and Brian Glenney admit is graffiti, but it has evolved to receive broad-based attention and acceptance. According to the project\u2019s website, \u201cSince [the project\u2019s] inception, educational institutions, private companies, cities and townships, governmental organizations, hospitals, and \u2014 most importantly \u2014 individual activists all over the world have appropriated the new icon for their own purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Museum of Modern Art in New York accessioned the project for its permanent collection in Architecture and Design in 2013. Today, anyone can download the icon for free. The Accessible Icon Project website highlights stories from around the world about people adopting and using the new signage. Stories come from everywhere from Cleveland to Japan, suggesting a truly international movement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Advocacy groups and lawmakers around the country have undertaken efforts at the state and city level to revamp the traditional \u201chandicapped\u201d or accessibility signage. In a statement from the Governor\u2019s office celebrating the change, New York assemblywoman Sandy Galef, who was involved in efforts to update signage in New York state, explained: \u201cThe disability community […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[542,545,543,373,544],"class_list":["post-7607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-accessibility","tag-accessible-design","tag-accessible-icon","tag-design","tag-iconography"],"yoast_head":"\nAdoption of new disability signage spreads | SmartSign Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.smartsign.com/blog\/adoption-of-new-disability-signage-spreads\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Adoption of new disability signage spreads | SmartSign Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Advocacy groups and lawmakers around the country have undertaken efforts at the state and city level to revamp the traditional \u201chandicapped\u201d or accessibility signage. 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