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Disability Rights
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“We must be treated as equals – and communication is the way we can bring this about.” 

— Louis Braille

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“Part of the problem is that we tend to think that equality is about treating everyone the same, when it’s not. It’s about fairness. It’s about equity of access.” 

– Judith Heumann

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“I wanted to be part of the world, but I didn’t see anyone like me in it.” 

– Jim LeBrecht

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“There is no greater disability in society, than the inability to see a person as more.” 

– Robert M. Hensel

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“We need to make every single thing accessible to every single person with a disability.” 

– Stevie Wonder

Disability Rights News

In New Hampshire, people with disabilities face challenges hiring the help they need

By: William Skipworth – May 27, 2025 5:00 am  Jim and Pat Piet pose for a photo in their Concord home. The couple said that hiring aides to help Jim with everyday tasks…
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NYC schools fail to protect students with disabilities from lengthy suspensions

By Alex Zimmerman | May 21, 2025, 3:05pm CDT After trading taunts with a classmate one morning in March 2023, Tristan threw a punch that busted the other student’s lip. A teacher who…
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Lingering cost worries cloud plans for veterans disability reform bill

By Leo Shane III  Thursday, May 22, 2025 After years of hearing cost complaints from lawmakers, advocates believe they have finally reached a funding solution for their major disability reform plan, providing thousands of dollars…
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A double amputee who served in Iraq is pushing lawmakers to end the ‘wounded veterans tax’

Federal policy prevents around 50,000 injured veterans from receiving both their full retirement pay and disability compensation. May 26, 2025, 4:37 PM CDT / Updated May 27, 2025, 11:56 AM CDT By Melanie Zanona…
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Get Informed

Fact Sheet

  • More than 1 in 4 , adults in the United States have some type of disability.
    cdc.gov
  • Today, there are nearly 5 million Americans with disabilities, making up 13% of the civilian noninstitutionalized population, which represents a substantial workforce and consumer base in our country.
    PEW Research Center
  • Adults with disabilities today are more likely to experience health issues compared to those without disabilities, from obesity at a 10% increase to heart disease at a 7% increase to diabetes at a 9% increase.
    cdc.gov
  • 25% of disabled adults aged 18-44 have unmet healthcare needs due to cost.
    cdc.gov
  • 1 in 6 people worldwide has a significant disability, and this number is expected to increase.
    World Health Organization
  • 25% of people with disabilities experience housing insecurity and homelessness.
    cdc.gov
Stay Engaged

Recommended Media

 
This is life from a disabled lens. Disability Visibility is a podcast hosted by San Francisco night owl Alice Wong featuring conversations on politics, culture, and media with disabled people.
 

Where to listen: Spotify

This film is an oral history, told by the movement’s mythical heroes themselves, and illustrated through the use of rare archival footage. The story features Fred Fay, who suffered a spinal cord injury at age 17 in 1961, and simply refused to be relegated to life’s sidelines just because he couldn’t walk. He fought tirelessly for decades for equal rights, access, and opportunity for the disabled, including advocating for programs allowing the disabled to live independently. (Fred died August 20, 2011; the film is dedicated to him.) Also featured is Ed Roberts, who founded the independent living movement in Berkeley and is also considered a father of the disability rights movement.

 

Where to watch: PBS Documentaries

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