Disability Pride Month: The World Works Better With Us

Joy Brings Light Team
Jul 9
3 min read

Updated: Jul 14

Do you know that the CDC estimates over 70 million US adults have a disability?

That means more than 1 in every 4 people in America have a disability1

July is Disability Pride Month! This is a time to celebrate the diversity, resilience, and contributions of the disability community, and to recognize disability as a natural part of human experience rather than something to fix or hide.

The month traces back to July 26, 1990, when the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law, opening the door to greater access in employment, education, transportation, and public life. The first Disability Pride Day was held in Boston that same year, and the observance has since grown into a nationwide, month-long celebration.

This year's national theme, selected by The Arc's National Council of Self-Advocates, is "The World Works Better With Us." It's a reminder that when people with disabilities are included, respected, and supported, communities, workplaces, and public spaces work better for everyone. Curb cuts, captioning, audiobooks, and voice dictation all started as access solutions — and today they benefit nearly all of us.

Visible & Invisible Disabilities

Not all disabilities are visible. Mobility devices, hearing aids, and service animals may be easy to recognize — but conditions like chronic pain, ADHD, autoimmune disorders, PTSD, and mental illness often go unseen. Holding space for both visible and invisible disability is part of building a culture where people don't have to prove their experience to be believed or supported.

Know Your Rights

The ADA National Network provides information, guidance, and training on the Americans with Disabilities Act. Here are three resources worth bookmarking:

An Overview of the Americans With Disabilities Act

“Reasonable accommodation” vs “reasonable modification of policies, practices, or procedures”

Your Employment Rights as a Person with a Disability and the ADA

This moment is an invitation — for individuals and for organizations — to ask: who feels like they belong here, and who doesn't yet?

Building spaces where people feel they can arrive as themselves is ongoing work. It's a practice of listening, adapting, and recognizing that there is no one "right" way to engage while taking bold action to create systems that lead to better outcomes.

Disability Advocates & Resources

The Arc — Disability Pride Month

The Arc is the nation's largest community-based organization supporting and advocating for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Each July, they maintain the largest national database of Disability Pride Month events available — including events happening right here in Nebraska.

→ Disability Pride Month 2026: What It Is, the 2026 Theme, and How to Celebrate

Disability:IN

Disability:IN is the leading nonprofit resource for business disability inclusion worldwide. Disability:IN partners with leading companies and drives progress through initiatives, tools, and expertise that deliver long-term business impact.

According to research from Disability:IN and the American Institutes for Research (AIR), the disability consumer market represents $675 billion in disposable income and continues to grow, driven by accessibility and innovation. For business leaders, the opportunity goes beyond awareness — success requires embedding accessibility into strategy, product development, and customer experience to unlock growth and better serve this expanding market.

→ Disability:IN and AIR Release New Research on the $675 Billion Consumer Market

Disability Visibility Podcast — Alice Wong

Alice Wong is a longtime activist and writer who was diagnosed with muscular atrophy as a child. Based in San Francisco, she founded the Disability Visibility Project after feeling the need to fill a gap in coverage around disability culture and politics. The online community platform aims to amplify the perspectives of people with disabilities and publishes commentary on ableism, intersectionality, and media.

To share their stories and voices more widely, Wong created a podcast centering on "life from a disabled lens," per the podcast description. Disability Visibility features conversations on disability politics, culture, and media. "It's about sharing our community's stories and our unapologetic lives with the world," she said in the first episode. "One podcast, one transcript, one tweet at a time."

Wong also edited Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century — an anthology featuring essays, manifestos, and other writings by contemporary disabled people about their lived experiences.

→ See more about the Disability Visibility anthology