Dr.
Henry Viscardi, Jr., Founder of Abilities, Inc., Dies
Dr. Henry Viscardi, Jr., one of the world's most highly respected pioneers
for the rights and opportunities of people with disabilities, died
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DR. HENRY VISCARDI |
Dr. Viscardi broke down barriers imposed by his own physical challenges, and
built his career on the conviction that "there really are no disabled
people, only people with varying degrees of ability."
Dr. Viscardi's bold vision transformed the way employers, educators and
policy-makers viewed disabilities, laying the groundwork for landmark
legislation mandating the integration of people with disabilities into everyday
life.
He was the founder of Abilities, Inc., which has grown into the
internationally acclaimed
Among other contributions to public life, he served as an advisor on
disability issues to every president from Franklin D. Roosevelt through Jimmy
Carter.
Eleanor Roosevelt, in her introduction to one of Dr. Viscardi's books, wrote
that his accomplishments reflect "a personal story of courage and
determination, dignity and human rights."
Known to many as Hank, Dr. Viscardi was born with underdeveloped legs and
spent the first six years of his life in the Hospital for Deformities and Joint
Diseases in
Inspired by this challenge, Dr. Viscardi embarked on his lifelong mission to
empower people with disabilities to lead self-sufficient, productive lives.
At Eleanor Roosevelt's urging, Dr. Viscardi left a successful private-sector
career in 1952 to establish Abilities, Inc., a manufacturing enterprise staffed
largely by injured World War II veterans, in a former warehouse in
At a time when people with disabilities were all but excluded from the
workforce, Abilities, Inc. was a revolutionary concept that demonstrated that
people with disabilities could-and should-be productive contributors to
society. Within a few years, Abilities, Inc. was winning contracts from such
defense industry giants as Grumman, General Electric and IBM, as well as the
U.S. Department of Defense.
Dr. Viscardi's vision extended beyond the employment of
people with disabilities. It also encompassed education and research. In
the early 1960s, he moved his enterprise to a larger facility in Albertson,
where he established the Human Resources Center. New adult vocational training
programs and a research center expanded into the Career and Employment
Institute (CEI) and the Research and Training Institute (RTI), and Abilities,
Inc. entered the international spotlight. To better reflect the scope and
impact of its work, the organization was renamed the
In 1962, after a long, arduous process, Dr. Viscardi turned another of his
dreams into reality by gaining a charter from the New York State Department of
Education to establish the Human Resources School on the Albertson campus. Upon
Dr. Viscardi's retirement in 1981, the school, which had become one of the
nation's leading K-12 educational institutions for children with severe
physical and medical disabilities, was renamed the Henry Viscardi School.
Dr. Viscardi's contributions to education were recognized around the world. Universities
in
Professional organizations lauded Dr. Viscardi for his revolutionary
influence on the business world's approach to employing people with
disabilities.
In 1957, he was the first-ever non-medical recipient of the American Medical
Association's Outstanding Service Citation, which had been given only four
times since the AMA's founding over 100 years earlier. The National
Rehabilitation Association presented Dr. Viscardi with its highest honor, the
President's Medal, and the Freedom Foundation of Valley Forge awarded him the American
Exemplar Medal. In 1983 the Horatio Alger Association named him to its list of
Distinguished Americans, and he was the 1992 winner of the Andrus Award for
Community Service from the American Association of Retired Persons.
Dr. Viscardi was the author of numerous articles and eight books. His book,
A Letter to Jimmy, received the Niernberger Trichter Literary Award in
At the time of his death, Dr. Viscardi was a resident of Kings Point. He is
survived by his wife, Lucile, four daughters, sons-in-law, nine grandchildren
and three great-grandchildren.
Donations may be made in his name to the