Dybwad, Gunnar (1909-2001)

American (German-born) author and civil rights advocate

Gunnar Dybwad was born in Leipzig, Germany, on July 12, 1909, and received his doctor of laws degree in 1934 from the University of Halle in Germany. He also earned a degree from the New York School of Social Work in 1940. His career in special education and human services spanned eight decades. During that time, he was made a fellow in several prestigious professional organizations including the American Association on Mental Retardation, the American Sociological Association, the American Orthopsychiatric Association, and the American Public Health Association. He was also an honorary fellow in the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dybwad published several books and monographs in the field of mental retardation. In addition, his work has been published in more than 20 journals including the Journal of Rehabilitation, CHILDREN, International Rehabilitation Review, Policy Studies Review, Journal of Rehabilitation in Asia, and International Journal of Religious Education.

He was executive director of the National Association for Retarded Children from 1957 to 1964, served as a consultant to President John F. Kennedy's Presidential Panel on Mental Retardation, and was an expert witness in several landmark court cases in educational rights and institutional abuse, including Mills v. Board of Education and Wyatt v. Stickney.

He and his wife Rosemary were instrumental in the formation of the International League of Societies for Persons with Mental Handicap, which later became Inclusion International. He was president of Inclusion International from 1978 to 1982.

Dybwad was twice recognized with honorary doctorates: first a doctor of humane letters from Temple University in 1977 and then doctor of public services from the University of Maryland.

Dybwad's academic career included professor of human development at Brandeis University from 1967 to 1974, visiting professor at Syracuse University, and visiting scholar at the Canadian Institute on Mental Retardation.

Dybwad was at the center of the development of thoughts that are now taken for granted: normalization, deinstitutionalization, inclusive schooling, self-advocacy, and self-determination. Considered by many to be the grandfather of the self-advocacy movement, Dybwad worked in support of self-advocacy literally until his death September 13, 2001, at age 92.