Apple’s latest emoji represent disabilities
APPLE is creating a range of emoji that will represent individuals with disabilities, claiming the move will help to foster a diverse and inclusive culture.
The 13 images, which can be sent in text messages and on social media, include a prosthetic arm, a guide dog, a hearing aid and a wheelchair user.
In a submission to the Unicode Consortium, which reviews requests for emoji, Apple said it “aims to provide a wider array of options to represent basic categories for people with disabilities”.
The new images outlined in the doc- ument were developed in collaboration with international disability organisations including the American Council of the Blind, the Cerebral Palsy Foundation and the National Association of the Deaf.
Ciara Lawrence, who has a learning disability and works for Mencap, said it was “really pleasing” to see that Apple were trying to be more inclusive.
“There are emoji for almost everything, and there’s no reason why people with a disability should be excluded,” she said.
“I hope Apple now really thinks hard about how they can include all forms of disability in their emoji, such as invisible disabilities like a learning disability.”
Apple’s proposed emoji set could be added to the Emoji 12.0 list, which is due to be released in March 2019, if the submission is successful.