History
Disability Pride Month is celebrated throughout the month of July every year. It originally started as a day of celebration for the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law, which occurred on July 26,1990. 25 years later, in July of 2015, is when the first official celebration of Disability Pride Month was held. It is an opportunity to honor the history, experiences, achievements, and struggles of the disabled community.
The history of the disabled community is riddled with acts such as segregation, discrimination and attacks on the basic human rights of those with a disability. The fight to end discrimination with the disability rights movement blossomed in the 1960’s alongside the civil rights movement although it had been looming for some time before. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 marked the beginning of rights being protected for people with disabilities by preventing employment discrimination and providing equal access to federally funded programs. One of the most well known disability rights protests was held because of the need for clear regulations regarding these mandates and how they would be interpreted.
Due to lack of progress, sit-ins in the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare offices around the country were planned and protests in San Francisco were happening. Regulations were passed after almost a month of sit-ins and protests. The ADA was signed into law so that all disability rights protections were encompassed into one act. Despite making great strides in the movement and the passing of laws such as the ADA the fight still isn’t over. Today activists make sure that situations and prejudices are well-known and fought against for the benefit of making sure people with disabilities are treated equally and with respect.
What you can do
Read books by disabled authors
Follow disability activists
Call your elected officials about bills introduced for the benefit of those with disabilities
Donate to organizations and causes that impact the disability community
Educate yourself about ableism
Be aware of your language
Hire individuals with disabilities
And many more!
Different Types of Disabilities
When most people think of disabilities, they tend to think of physical disabilities such as using a wheelchair or being vision impaired. There are many different types of ways that someone can be considered disabled which include physical, mental, and intellectual. Physical disabilities include using a wheelchair, having a hearing impairment, having cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, and acid attack victims.
Mental disabilities are when a mental illness disrupts someone's performance and day-to-day activities. These include anxiety disorders, depression, PTSD, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder but there are many others as well. An intellectual disability is a term used to describe when someone has a limit to the person’s ability to learn at the expected level. These can be caused by an injury, disease or a problem in the brain. They can manifest at birth as well as later in life.
Some of the more well-known intellectual disabilities include down syndrome and fetal alcohol syndrome, which happen at birth, and others can be caused by situations such as a stroke or serious head injury. Despite the range of disabilities, everyone deserves respect and understanding which is what Disability Pride Month hopes and strives to achieve.
Book Recommendations
One of the ways you can help to support Disability Pride Month is to educate yourself about the different terms, people’s stories on how they faced discrimination and overcame, the different types of disabilities and their manifestations, and many more! We can do this by reading books and articles! Here are some recommendations we have for furthering this education:
Resources
This article was written by Bri, CPLD MSW Student Social Worker. If you would like to make an appointment to talk, get help with aid or job applications, or find out about community resources that can help you and your family, click below!