Tom Shakespeare

Judith Scott

She couldn’t hear, couldn’t speak and had Down syndrome. She spent years in an institution, until her twin sister rescued her. Yet today, her textile pieces are held in museums throughout the world and sell for tens of thousands of dollars. This profoundly disabled person was at the same time a great artist, whose work… Read More from Judith Scott

Bryan Pearce

Obituaries in The Times, The Guardian and The Independent would suggest a life of distinction for any person, but are a unique achievement for a man with intellectual disabilities.  But Bryan Pearce earned his fame more for what he did than for who he was.  One of the leading naïve artists of the twentieth century,… Read More from Bryan Pearce

Mabel Cooper

For some time, I have been seeking out a person with intellectual disability to include in this website.  Despite books such as Downs: a history, and other historical research about intellectual disability, very few named individuals with intellectual disability have left a record.  In the late twentieth century, with the growth of deinstitutionalization and consensus… Read More from Mabel Cooper