We celebrate Disability Pride Month every July to honor all of us in the disability community—those of us who identify as having a disability, those of us who don’t, and those of us who care for people with disabilities. 

Disability Pride Month happens in July to mark the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. It’s an occasion to celebrate ourselves and how far we’ve come–and to advocate for our own visibility, acknowledging there is more work to be done so we can live in a more accessible, inclusive world. 

Part of that work is creating new products that make our daily lives easier, which is what we’re working on at Welcomed Co™. But another part is creating new language to talk about disability—and we’re working on that, too. 

We try to take an open approach to language, one that respects how individuals choose to identify themselves. Some people prefer person-first language, while others prefer identity-first language. 

Some may not identify as having a disability at all. We recognize individuals and groups may choose to identify differently, and we embrace those differences. 

We want you to know we are mindful about the language we use. We do not want to be euphemistic, but we do want to be considerate of the terminology people choose to use for themselves. We may not show up perfectly—we are constantly learning—but we truly want every person to feel seen and included here at Welcomed Co™.

We use the word disability as a way to take ownership of our own experience. It’s a loaded word—with the prefix dis- meaning “apart,” it can certainly feel like a negative, right? We know people have tried out other terms—differently abled and special needs come to mind. In using the word, we are attempting to reclaim it. To show disability is not a dirty word. To show we are not ashamed. There is nothing to be ashamed of. No matter what our abilities are, or your abilities are, there is one truth that guides us—everyone is worthy of love and belonging. 

Here’s a quote we live by:

“Let's take the gauntlet and make goodness attractive in this so-called next millennium. That's the real job that we have. I'm not talking about Pollyanna-ish kind of stuff. I'm talking about down-to-Earth actual goodness. People caring for each other in a myriad of ways rather than people knocking each other off all the time...What changes the world? The only thing that ever really changes the world is when somebody gets the idea that love can abound and can be shared.” – Fred Rogers, Edinboro University Commencement Keynote Address, 1998 

Want to learn more about Disability Pride Month?

Listen to or read the transcript of this episode from The Heumann Perspective podcast, a podcast hosted by the late Judy Heumann, the mother of the disability rights movement.

Listen to or read the transcript of this episode of The Accessible Stall podcast with Ann Magill, the creator of the Disability Pride flag.

Photo: "ADA with glasses" by designer491