Roberts' Early Life

Ed Roberts and the Rolling Quads: Breaking Social and Architectural Barriers for Individuals with Disabilities

ROBERTS' EARLY LIFE

Ed Roberts, born on January 23, 1939, in San Mateo, California, contracted polio at the age of 14, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down and dependent on an iron lung to breathe. For years, Roberts attended high school by telephone due to his self-consciousness about his appearance.

" I didn't want to go out. I was terrified that people would stare at me, I didn't like myself very much...I accepted all those old stereotypes about me."
-Ed Roberts

[Metropolitan Transportation Commission. The Roberts family.]

[Post-Polio Health International. Man using an Emerson tank respirator equipped with a mirror, 1950s.]

Because of Ed's disability, he did not complete the driver education and physical education courses needed to graduate from high school. Initially, his high school refused to grant him his diploma, but after Ed's mother petitioned the school board, this decision was overturned.

" The Vice Principal came over to my house and told me, 'Now Eddie, you wouldn't want a cheap diploma now, would you?' We kicked him out of our house. My mother took it to the school board. This was my first real fight, and she was the one who showed me the ropes."
-Ed Roberts

By doing so, Ed's mother showed Ed the importance of striking down educational barriers that stood in the way of students with disabilities.