Susan Nussbaum, a playwright and novelist whose work reflected her concerns for the rights of people with disabilities, died on April 28 at her home in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. She was 68.

Sher began using a wheelchair after she was hit by a car at age 24 and soon became an integral part of Chicago’s burgeoning disability-rights scene. Incensed by a lack of accessibility in the city for theater people with disabilities, she wrote her own plays, starring herself and other disabled actors.

Her activism extended outside Chicago as well. She visited Nicaragua and Cuba as a member of coalitions on disability rights. Later in life, she founded a Chicago organization for disabled young women seeking to explore their sexuality.