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An educator, foundation director, and disabilities rights advocate, Robert B. Irwin worked effectively to provide pathways to “social and economic independence” for the blind and those with low vision. In 1901, Irwin graduated from what later became the Washington State School for the Blind. Hired to supervise public school classes for blind students in Cleveland, Ohio (1909–23), he led efforts to include them in classes for sighted learners and to provide large-type books for those with low vision.
As executive director of the American Foundation for the Blind (1929–49), Irwin secured funding for the publication and nationwide distribution of Braille books and was the driving force behind the development of the first Talking Book recordings. He also lobbied successfully for legislation that channeled federal resources to workshops for the blind as well as rehabilitation programs for World War II veterans with eye injuries.
Nacido en Rockford, Iowa
Robert B. Irwin, educador, director ejecutivo y defensor de los derechos de los discapacitados, laboró por dar vías de “independencia social y económica” a las personas ciegas y con poca visión. En 1901 se graduó de la que luego sería la Escuela para Ciegos del Estado de Washington. Contratado como supervisor de clases para estudiantes ciegos en las escuelas públicas de Cleveland, Ohio (1909–23), lideró esfuerzos para integrarlos con los estudiantes videntes y proveer libros de letra ampliada para aquellos con poca visión.
Como director ejecutivo de la Fundación Estadounidense para Ciegos (1929–49), Irwin obtuvo fondos para publicar y distribuir libros en braille nacionalmente y fue el impulsor de las primeras grabaciones de audiolibros Talking Books. Cabildeó con éxito por leyes que canalizaran recursos federales a talleres para ciegos, así como a programas de rehabilitación para veteranos de la II Guerra Mundial con lesiones oculares.