People with disabilities are not often seen in photographs. CPSC is changing that (2023)

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The CPSC commissioned new photos showing Americans with disabilities using a variety of home safety devices, including portable generators.US Consumer Product Safety Commission hide title

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US Consumer Product Safety Commission

The CPSC commissioned new photos showing Americans with disabilities using a variety of home safety devices, including portable generators.

US Consumer Product Safety Commission

A man with a prosthetic leg plugs in a portable generator, a yellow cable running a safe distance from his house. A woman with a walker shines a flashlight in a dark kitchen. A guy wearing a hearing aid changes smoke alarm batteries.

These are some of the new images recently released by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, a government agency that focuses on accident prevention and hasentertained the internetfor years with his public safety memes on Twitter.

And while the photos may not sound particularly revolutionary, they represent a major step forward in the representation of physical disability.

"Many of us agreed that this would be one of the most important things we've worked on in our careers," CPSC social media specialist Joseph Galbo told NPR via email. "There was a real sense of helping right a wrong and providing something important to the community that is too often left out of many important conversations."

CPSCtweeted last weekthat he took action after noticing a lack of photos showing people with disabilities using common home safety devices, from carbon monoxide detectors to fire extinguishers to flashlights. And he shared the link on apage on your websitewith more than a dozen such photos.

Their announcement wasrazveselili manyon Twitter, who applauded the agency for creating a valuable, inclusive new resource.

"Thank you ... for representing all Americans,"he repliedNational Association for Carbon Monoxide Awareness.

The Americans with Disabilities Association welcomed the move, with President and CEO Maria Town telling NPR in an email that it "brings us closer to accepting that people with disabilities are everywhere."

And, she adds, it should be "standard practice, not the celebrated exception" as government bodies introduce visibility and diversity into their programs and practices.

"Disability is a natural part of the human condition, yet it is too often considered special or different from mainstream society," Town wrote. "Representation—from stock photos, to policies and programs—helps create the inclusively accessible society we aspire to, rather than leaving our communities behind."

CPSC has already started using stock photos in their posters and social media graphics, like this oneMarch tweetshows a man in a wheelchair extolling the virtues of his fire extinguisher to a magical deer inexplicably named Alan Dracula, andMay's tweetin which a man with a prosthetic leg stands by his frying pan while Pegasus bobs on the counter behind him.

The commission has made the photos available in the public domain, and Galbo says he has also shared them with his international partners in Canada and Mexico.

They hope that organizations - including hospitals, fire departments, public health departments, and state and local groups - across the US and beyond will use them in their educational materials.

"For the benefit of our mission, we want to make sure we are effective in public health communications to help save as many lives as possible," Galbo said. "We also want people with disabilities to know that we are committed to helping them live safe and healthy lives."

The CPSC says the new images are one step in that direction — and there's more to come.

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The CPSC says it worked with models to properly depict appliances and safety practices — for example, safe cooking might mean covering your legs if you use a wheelchair.US Consumer Product Safety Commission hide title

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US Consumer Product Safety Commission

The CPSC says it worked with models to properly depict appliances and safety practices — for example, safe cooking might mean covering your legs if you use a wheelchair.

US Consumer Product Safety Commission

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Solving an old problem with new resources

Photos are incredibly important to the CPSC's mission of promoting awareness. His social media graphics typically use at least three to four photos each, Galbo says.

"We know that visual representation of the correct way of doing something is important for effective public health communication," he adds. "In injury prevention, this is especially critical because many of the positive behaviors we want to encourage require interaction with safety devices."

And yet, he says, it's generally hard to find images of people using these common, key safety devices — especially when they're people from historically excluded communities.

The social media team spends a lot of time sifting through photo repositories, but has struggled to find images of Americans with disabilities using even the most common home safety devices, like cooking in the kitchen.

"At first they thought it might be the cheaper image library we were using," he wrote. "But the more they looked at the libraries - even the most famous and expensive ones - the more obvious it became that there was a huge gap in what was available."

The result, he says, is a less effective image. So when the 2021 America's Rescue Plan gave the CPSC more resources to develop new creative materials, this project became a priority.

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CPSC worked with a mix of models and non-models, all with disabilities, to shoot the campaign.US Consumer Product Safety Commission hide title

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CPSC worked with a mix of models and non-models, all with disabilities, to shoot the campaign.

US Consumer Product Safety Commission

Choosing the right scenarios and models was crucial

Galbo says the CPSC worked with its public relations agency to hold an open casting call, eventually hiring a mix of models and non-models with disabilities "who heard about the project and wanted to be a part of it."

The most time-consuming part of the process was deciding which products and hazards to film. Galbo says the selection was based on more than 20 safety campaigns CPSC conducts throughout the year.

They considered several key questions: What hazards injure and kill the most people? What dangers does the CPSC know it will have to warn about year after year? What behaviors should be visualized to address the hazards that have the greatest gaps in visual representations of people with disabilities?

"With those questions guiding us, fire hazards and carbon monoxide hazards emerged as areas of greatest need," says Galbo.

Cooking fires areReason number 1house fires, he explains. And climate change is fueling bigger, more powerful storms that can cause power outages and force people to rely on portable generators, which can create deadly levels of carbon monoxidewhen used improperly. Safety products like carbon monoxide detectors and smoke alarms can help address these risks.

Galbo said the models provided valuable knowledge on how best to display the devices in use and were "key to keeping the images true to life".

For example, no one on the team used avibrating smoke alarm before, but luckily one of the models knew how. Another showed the best safety practices for cooking while in a wheelchair.

"For them, cooking safely means standing next to the pan... but thanks to the model, we also discovered that for someone who uses a wheelchair, that can mean covering their legs," Galbo added, calling it a powerful example of why it was so important to work with models who they themselves live with disabilities.

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The CPSC has already begun using the new images in its safety communications and hopes other agencies in the US, Canada and Mexico will follow suit.US Consumer Product Safety Commission hide title

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US Consumer Product Safety Commission

The CPSC has already begun using the new images in its safety communications and hopes other agencies in the US, Canada and Mexico will follow suit.

US Consumer Product Safety Commission

The CPSC says there is room — and plans — for improvement

Through this project, Galbo said, CPSC team members realized there were visualization gaps for other hazardous areas as well.

Baby safety is one example: there aren't many pictures of disabled parents keeping their babies in a safe sleeping environment.

"We are also now carefully reviewing our safety guidelines and identifying any educational messages that may be unintentionally capable or do not explain how someone who uses a wheelchair or walker can use the product safely," Galbo wrote.

Identifying problems has become much easier now that the team knows what to look for, he added, and they are now working to "address as many as possible as quickly as possible."

Part of that strategy includes looking for new ways to reach the public. CPSC has a significant following (over 171,000 users) on Twitter, where it has attracted attention over the years for its creative graphics.

Galbo says their "unconventional" approach to social media continues to pay off: people have gotten to know their presenceanimal figures(fromQuinn the quarantine foxaccording toCarbon Monoxide Safety Geese Brigade) itell the CPSCthat their reach prompted them to do things like replace smoke alarm batteries, check their fire extinguishers and switch to wireless blinds.

"Government is at its best when it's connected to the people, and we're very grateful that the public continues to enjoy and learn from us on social media," he wrote.

The blue tick of the CPSC account (mourned by aa tweet very familiar with the brand) was replaced by gray in April, after Twitter phased out its old verification program. What does this mean for his social strategy?

Galbo says the commission is committed to its Twitter audience, while also looking for additional platforms to join. His signature PSAs could soon be found on sites like Tumblr, Mastodon or BlueSky.

You can find all kinds of safety instructionson its websitealso. And, with the beginning of the Atlantichurricane seasonWith just a few days to go, it's as good a time as ever to get up to speed on security devices for yourself, your loved ones, and your home.

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The agency is now looking at other ways to improve injury prevention representation.US Consumer Product Safety Commission hide title

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US Consumer Product Safety Commission

The agency is now looking at other ways to improve injury prevention representation.

US Consumer Product Safety Commission

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