July is Disability Pride Month
Why is July Disability Pride Month?
The Americans with Disabilities Act became law in July of 1990, and the United States celebrates this historic milestone every July. Although the ADA is an American statute, Disability Pride Month is also celebrated around the entire world and with parades and fanfare in cities across the United States. The celebration seeks to change the way the world views those with disabilities, end the stigma assigned to those persons, and help the global community understand and accept that disability is a natural part of the human condition.
Why the Big Celebration?
The ADA is a civil rights law, that provides protection against discrimination against people who are affected by disabilities. It improves access for people with disabilities (PWD) to public services and changes the way society views those with disabilities, which includes mental and physical limitations.
Who is Celebrated?
Great question! You may know people with disabilities but are unaware of their different lives. Fifteen percent of the world’s population has a disability, as do about 26% of the population of the United States. PWD include individuals of all races, socio-economic status, genders, religions, educational levels, ethnicities, and sexual orientation.
What is a Disability?
The ADA defines “a person with a disability” as:
- a person who has a physical or mental impairment
- that substantially limits one or more major life activities.
- This includes people who have a record of such an impairment, even if they do not currently have a disability.
- It also includes individuals who do not have a disability but are regarded as having a disability.
It’s important to be aware that a disability can affect any type of someone’s functioning and may include cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, or sensory functioning.
Disabilities may be present at birth or acquired.
Disabilities may be visible or invisible.
Examples of Successful PWD
Have you ever heard of Helen Keller? She was born deaf, mute, and blind, and lived for years cut off from those around her. Taught to communicate by her remarkable teacher, Ms. Keller became an author, advocate, political rights activist, and lecturer. Her struggles and successes have inspired millions the world over.
Several stories detail how children born with no legs have won positions on their school sports teams. One boy, 13-year-old Josiah Johnson, tried out for his middle school basketball team in Louisville, Kentucky. The coaches offered him the chance to use a wheelchair, which Johnson turned down. He made the team without the help of a wheelchair and impressed his teammates.
Another student, Robert Martin, was born without legs or hips. Nicknamed Bobby No Legs, Bobby ran with his arms and played defensive lineman for his high school varsity football team.
The famous physicist, Stephen Hawking, acquired a slow-onset motor neuron disease that gradually left him completely paralyzed. Despite the inability to use his body, Dr. Hawking married twice, fathered three children, wrote a record-breaking bestseller, and was at different times the director of research and the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge.
Does Your Child Have a Disability? Find Out How They Can Succeed!
The ADA provides specific support for people with disabilities. Students have the right to have reasonable accommodations in a 504 Plan if they have a disability under the ADA. If that disability rises to the level of the need for special education, that student has the right to a comprehensive Individualized Education Plan.
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