Disability Emoji’s Released on World Emoji Day

Today is World Emoji Day and in an attempt to better represent those with disabilities, Apple and Google have shared sneak peaks into a number of emoji’s to be released that are accessibility focused – such as guide dogs, wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs. More than 50 new emoji’s will become standard in 2019 and a large proportion of them are tied to the theme of inclusivity – including disabilities, inter racial relationships and gender ambiguous designs.

An Apple spokesman said: “Celebrating diversity in all its many forms is integral to Apple’s values” . Apple has pointed out that although the new emojis do not represent all forms of disability, they should be seen as a starting point for better representation and diversity within the emoji world.

Some of the disability emoji’s include:

A guide dog

A man and woman walking with a cane

A man and woman signing that they are deaf

An ear with a hearing aid

A man and woman in both mechanical and manual wheelchairs

A service dog (a trained dog that helps those with hidden disabilities)

A prosthetic arm

A prosthetic leg

Mechanical and Wheelchair Emojis

Service Dog Emoji

Hearing Aid Emojis

Prosthetic Limb Emojis

Content Credit: www.thecrunch.com / BBC News