Published TUESDAY March 25, 2025: 'Disability Redefined' Pictures by 2024 Alan Hagman Grant Recipient ZUMA Press contract photojournalist Robin Rayne: For decades, disability narratives have been shaped by outsiders, stories told about, rather than by, those living the experience. Disability Redefined: Stories From the Front Lines seeks to change that. Through powerful images and deeply personal accounts, this project amplifies the voices of disabled individuals, capturing the raw, everyday realities of barriers, resilience, joy, struggle, and triumph. These selected images from Robin's ongoing documentary project offer a glimpse into lives too often overlooked and devalued. For over 30 years, Rayne's photography has documented the disability community with depth, empathy, authenticity, and an unflinching eye. Welcome to 'Disability Redefined'.
© zReportage.com Issue #982 Story of the Week: Published TUESDAY March 25, 2025: 'Disability Redefined' Pictures by 2024 Alan Hagman Grant Recipient ZUMA Press contract photojournalist Robin Rayne: For decades, disability narratives have been shaped by outsiders, stories told about, rather than by, those living the experience. Disability Redefined: Stories From the Front Lines seeks to change that. Through powerful images and deeply personal accounts, this project amplifies the voices of disabled individuals, capturing the raw, everyday realities of barriers, resilience, joy, struggle, and triumph. These selected images from Robin's ongoing documentary project offer a glimpse into lives too often overlooked and devalued. For over 30 years, Rayne's photography has documented the disability community with depth, empathy, authenticity, and an unflinching eye. Welcome to 'Disability Redefined'.

LOIS CURTIS at Georgia Regional Hospital where she was forced to live for decades. She was one of two women with developmental disabilities who became the catalyst for the U.S. Supreme Court Olmstead Decision in 1999, which mandated states to serve individuals with intellectual disabilities in communities rather than segregate and isolate them in state institutions. She is photographed with SUSAN JAMIESON, Atlanta Legal Aid attorney who represented her case to the Supreme Court.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

BEN and SAM SCHWENKER play on a backyard trampoline. Now 8 years old, both were both diagnosed with autism when they were 18 months old. ''Raising them is a daily challenge. We were so not prepared, but we learn more every day, '' says Jennifer, the boys mother. They are still non-verbal but understand some of what they hear.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

NOLA WAYNE kisses her profoundly disabled son ZACH goodbye before starting her 3-hour drive home from the Alabama nursing home where he lives. For the last 15 years, Nola made that 400-mile round trip every three weeks. Zack was ten years old when Nola made the gut-wrenching decision to place him in a nursing home. She was unable to find a facility in Georgia that would accept him, due to his 24-7 care needs. The closest skilled-care facility that would accept him was 200 miles away from home. Nola thought about quitting her job as a paralegal, but she was a single mother then with two other children, She needed her salary, and she needed the health insurance for Zach. The state of Georgia would pay nothing if Zach lived at home. But it offered to pay the full cost of a nursing home.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

A young girl with Down syndrome watches non-disabled classmates on a grade school playground in Atlanta, hoping to be included in their activities. Each year, about 5,700 babies born in the United States have Down syndrome, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

JEAN STEPTOE rolls her 57-year-old son RICKY through the halls at the Craig Nursing Center, the last remaining building on the Central State Hospital grounds. The entirety of the state institution was ordered closed and residents relocated into community by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1999, but many facilities were slow to follow the mandate. Ricky had lived in state facilities for decades due to his severe developmental and physical disabilities.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

JEAN STEPTOE, 86, tries to comfort her non-verbal son RICKY, 57, at Georgia's Central State Hospital, where he has been a resident for most of his life because of his severe autism. She was sharing plans for his relocation to a skilled care facility closer to her home as a result of the state's decision to close the institution. The U.S. Supreme Court's Olmstead Decision mandated that residents of state hospitals could no longer be isolated from society and must be reintegrated 'into community' and receive services there when possible.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

TOM BLACKETOR gently comforts his disabled wife JAN in their rural Georgia home, where she receives hospice care for advanced Alzheimer's disease.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

Concerned for her injured child, PAM WALLEY waits for Medical Services ambulance en-route to her rural Georgia home to transport her disabled daughter CALLIE to a nearby hospital. Nurse LORI CAIN holds Callie's broken leg to prevent further injury after her thigh bone snapped while she was being moved in her bed. Callie has cerebral palsy and is unable to speak or walk. At 22, she is cared for at home with support from nurses and aides, funded in part by a Medicaid waiver which helps families and individuals with disabilities survive, and thrive, in community rather than institutions.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

ERIKA JONES holds her latest attempts at writing her name after a large brain tumor left her with severe physical and intellectual disabilities at age 32. She is on a long road to what her single mother hopes is at least partial recovery.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

TOBY FRECK, 15, sits on a ride at a public playground, hoping to connect and befriend with other children. He is non-speaking because of his complex autism. It's so hard for him to make any connections. He's his best self when he's home, using his iPad and speech device. He understands so much more than we imagined, but I know he's lonely,' said his mother, Liz Freck.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

TIM MCBROOM presses his face into the family car window as he waits for his elderly father to take him on an outing. Tim, 36, experiences severe autism and is non-verbal, with profound developmental challenges. He wears a protective helmet to guard against self-injury.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

ASHTON GILBERT, 22, owner of UnBoxed cardboard recycling, collects a stack of used shipping boxes from the rear of a Lebanon, TN retail store. Ashton, who experiences autism and mental health issues, launched his business with the help of his mother, who operates a business from their home and was accumulating piles of boxes in their basement. At her suggestion, he began collecting boxes from his neighbors to add to the pile, driving with his mother to a recycling plant. From that humble beginning and with his parents help, Ashton now services more than 40 area businesses, paid both by the owners and recycling facility.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

DAVID R., a member of the Thunder baseball team, swings at a softball pitch during an Able Recreation game for area residents with developmental challenges. David lives in group home near Boone, N.C. ABLE Recreation serves children and adults with special needs and their families by providing a variety of adapted social and recreational activities.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

MELISSA SHORE tries to comfort her non-verbal son NEVIN with a weighted pad on his hands during one of his frequent emotional meltdowns. Nevin, 18, experiences profound autism and is prone to self-harm because of his frustration. Mellisa is Nevin's only caregiver except when her husband is home. While Nevin has a Medicaid waiver that would fund additional in-home support, she has been unable to hire anyone due to state's low wages for direct support professionals.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

NITA WILCOX stretches her son LUKE's arm as part of his morning physical therapy. He lives with his aging parents in a rural area of the state and is dependent on them for all his needs, due to a critical shortage of direct support professionals who provide in-home care for people with physical and developmental disabilities.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

TERRY RUSSELL tries to engage his son SPENCER, 22, for a bicycle ride at their Charlotte, NC home. Spencer has severe autism and his care is challenging for his parents, who are elderly. Spencer is on the waitlist for Medicaid waiver funding, which has a 10-15 year waiting period.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

JEREMY DONOHUE hugs his fiancee ALYSON WARREN, on an afternoon outing together. The couple, both with Down syndrome, hopes to marry, but must wait until she is awarded a Medicaid waiver to receive state services. That wait list is 10-15 years long, officials confirmed.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

JOSIE KLAAREN, 22, shares a tender moment with her father JOSHUA outside their Asheville, NC home. Joshua is anxious about his developmentally disabled daughter's future as she is incontinent and unable to express herself due to apraxia. 'Who will care for Josie when her mother and I are gone? We can understand her limited speech and we know her needs, but we haven't been able to find or hire any in-home caregivers. Nobody wants to work for the low wages the state is paying,' he said.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

DERREAN TUCKER and his wife DESHAN listen to a computer's voice prompts from an online cookbook to make spaghetti sauce, as both are blind. 'We've never seen each other but we do just fine,' said Derrean, who lost his vision after he was assaulted by gang members in a Georgia prison, incarcerated for armed robbery. 'My life changed after that,' Derrean said. 'I met Deshan when I called a support number fo blind and she worked there. We got to talking, became friends, and married in 2024,' Deshan vision faded following a stroke. They live in a small minimally-furnished house in LaGrange, Georgia.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

JOE HOLMES holds his disabled son JJ on his lap during JJ's evening shower, despite Joe's debilitating back injury. JJ, 19, has cerebral palsy and is unable to care for himself. He speaks through his iPad that he controls by using his nose to type, and despite his numerous challenges attends community college where he studies political science. 'It's politics that he likes, and it,'s also his major frustration, notes his mother Allison. JJ has.been on the wait list for Medicaid waiver support for 17 years. He's met with several state lawmaker delegations to share his situation. It's like they forgot about us,' said JJ, noting more than 22,000 individuals also wait listed. His parents worry they will die before JJ is provided with waiver-funded support, a crisis that would force JJ into institutional care.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

ALLISON HOLMES listens to her son JJ's address to Florida legislators that he typed on his iPad with his nose. His comments reflect his frustration at the state's disability policies and long wait list for Medicaid waivers. JJ is non-speaking because of his cerebral palsy but communicates through his iPad that recites what JJ writes.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

JUDAS STAMATELLOS, 21, chats with his surgeon during a post-op visit after his gender-affirming 'top surgery' to remove his female-bodied breasts. Judas, who experiences both autism and gender dysphoria, identifies as a transgender man and sought the procedure to fit in as a young male student in Carrolton, Georgia. 'I never fit in as a girl and that made it very lonely. Now I can just be me,' he said.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

COLBY SPANGLER loads a customer's groceries as part of his courtesy clerk job at Publix Supermarket near the University of Alabama campus. Spangler, 26, has mild cerebral palsy and was able to attend classes at the university. He works part-time at the market.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

Dr. ERIC PEEBLES chats with his live-in caregiver Abby at his Mobile, Alabama home. Peebles, who has spastic cerebral palsy, resulting from oxygen deprivation at birth, requires full-time support. He earned his PhD. At Auburn University in disability studies and directed Abilities Unlimited, LLC, a social service consulting firm that provides technical assistance and grant management to organizations committed to enhancing community living opportunities for individuals with disabilities.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

BEYSSA BUIL chats with her cherished plants outside her Miramar, Florida home where she lives with her mother and sister. She was unaware of her autism and multiple sclerosis until she was a young adult. Beyssa identifies as BIPOC, female presenting non-binary, low socio-economic level/poverty, with immigrant parents. She eventually earned a Masters degree in theology, and credits plants and Buddhism for her survival. 'I own 370 plants and it is part of my daily self-care practice to care for them,' she said.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

GRACE DODD, 22, is radiant and sociable in her evening gown at a Special Friends Prom for people with a variety of developmental and intellectual disabilities, held at a golf clubhouse in Brentwood, TN. Grace, who has Down syndrome, doesn't see herself as a person with a disability, choosing instead to live and enjoy her life to the fullest.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

KEN YOUNG stands outside an aging and barely liveable mobile home that he inherited from his last living relative. Ken, 45, has developmental disabilities and depends on a disability advocacy coordinator for help in navigating his life. The alternative to his current living situation would be a group home, which he hopes to avoid. ''This place isn't much, but it's mine,'' he said. After he inherited the crumbling structure three years ago, he wasn't aware that he owed property taxes and lost it in a tax sale. His advocate managed to find funds to buy it back for him.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

DASMAN (Daz) BROWN stands outside a North Carolina State Prison in Raleigh. Brown, 34, was released in 2023 after serving more than 10 years for armed robbery. He makes no excuses for his actions, admitting he ‘fell in with a bad crowd’ that led to his first arrest as a teen. His mother, Theresa, said her son’s fetal alcohol system was not disclosed when she adopted him, and his resulting intellectual challenges were ignored by school administrators. Nobody did anything to help him. He fell through the cracks, he has developmental disabilities that are life long. Teachers saw him as just another black boy who didn’t care, and he saw himself as a loser no matter what I said. Prison becomes a self fulfilling prophesy for many men of color. For many, Developmental disabilities are “invisible” and too many go undiagnosed,” she said. While in prison, Daz studied to become an electrician.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

NIKKI CANTRELL met her soulmate JAMES GREEN through an online warcraft gaming platform five years ago. 'He is my soulmate, so he better not die or else I want to die too' she said. Cantrell, 27, has scoliosis and a connective tissue disease which grows progressively worse. Green, 26, is in treatment at the VA for PTSD and depression, acquired during his military service. He is also her caregiver. 'We want to get married, but if we do, I lose my healthcare benefits so we just have to live together,' she said. They live in a small community that is largely religious and conservative. 'We're pagan and heathens, and we smoke a lot for the pain, so we're kind of outcasts here,' Cantrell said.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

Dozens of 100 area residents with developmental disabilities were cherished guests at the 2025 Night to Shine event at First Baptist Woodstock, a prom-like event for people with special needs and their volunteer buddies hosted by local churches around the world, held the Friday before Valentines Day, and sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

Dozens of 100 area residents with developmental disabilities were 'cherished guests' at the 2025 Night to Shine event at First Baptist Woodstock, a prom-like event for people with special needs and their volunteer buddies hosted by local churches around the world, held the Friday before Valentines Day, and sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire

COLBY SPANGLER chats with friends on Advocacy Day outside the Alabama Statehouse to residents with developmental disabilities that help them connect with local legislators inside. Spangler, 26, who has cerebral palsy, is active in the disability community and helped create a new law to assist those with disabilities in the state.
© Robin Rayne/ZUMA Press Wire