Policy 1820-1870 The meaning of the term "disability" has changed over time, and new categories of people with disabilities have been discovered or created. At this early period, the category "people with disabilities" does not yet exist -- people are deaf or blind, crippled or old -- though how a disability is acquired can determine society's response, as in the case of veterans. The collection reflects how categories of people with disabilities evolved in the 19th century, and how the problems disability created, for the community and the individual, were perceived.