Everyone likes to think they're at least minimally familiar with issues like race and gender, and it's a typical mistake to extend the same principles to the realm of disability, which is qualitatively different. Dallas seems to think that disabilities are progressive and immediately threatening to life and limb all the time. AIDS Standard blandishments. Graphic presentation Blah. The book is typeset with Windows word processing, and while the type is typically oversized, the document isn't aggressively ugly.
Contests amount to a demand that all entrants work on spec.
This approach is typical of design-ignorant intellectuals, who devalue graphic design when they're not ignoring it completely. What you should do is invite designers to show you their portfolios. You can then interview applicants on their design approach and make an informed choice rather than just picking the design you deem snazziest. Two derivative logos are even worse. Hire a professional.