Celebrating People with Disabilities through Stamps

Adaptations: American History

1-cent Franklin stamp — Benjamin Franklin was instrumental in the founding of the United States of America. It was suspected that he had Asperger's Syndrome. Scholars jokingly suggested that his syndrome was one of the reasons why he was not allowed to help write the Declaration of Indepence because he might add something humorous and inapporpriate.

To focus on a specific aspect of American History within the framework of disability studies, modify the activity and use stamps on American presidents with disabilities. Discussions could lead into what types of disabilities they had and how they used it to become great leaders.

The presidents with known disabilities to date are: George Washington, John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln, William Taft, James Garfield, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Calvin Coolidge, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan.

*Make sure appropriate accommodations are provided for those with varying disabilities.*