Howard Rusk
American, 1901–1989 Eugene J. Taylor
American, 1913-1978
Published by The Blakiston Company Inc.
Garden City, New York, 1843–1970
Living with a Disability, 1953
Offset lithograph
Private collection
At the Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, occupational therapist Muriel Zimmerman championed the postwar American self-help ethos, encouraging patients to design their own gadgets to overcome the barriers of the nondisabled built environment. Zimmerman believed that these devices would help her patients not have to rely on others. Helen Cookman collaborated with Zimmerman on what was considered the most important self-help device of all—clothing that assisted disabled persons with dressing and undressing themselves.
