July is Disability Pride Month.

Disability pride isn’t about wanting to be disabled. It is about feeling empowered to live with your disability.

Having disability pride is about feeling proud of who you are, for all that you are. Disability pride revokes the idea that people with disabilities should be made to feel less than accepted into society.

Disability impacts

In the United States, more than 1 in 4 adults, including over 70 million people, have a disability.

There are 7.5 million children and youth (or roughly 15% of public school students) who receive special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Additionally, the broader U.S. Census Bureau estimates that over 3 million children (about 4.3% of the under-18 population) have a diagnosed physical, cognitive, or sensory disability.

To focus more locally, the U.S. Census Bureau reports that 13.2% of the City of Racine’s population under the age of 65 lives with a disability. Within Racine County, the disability rate for those under 65 is 10.7% per the U.S. Census Bureau.

Including those who are over the age of 65, the rate of disability increases.

Racine County is home to 37,800 residents.

Those 65 and/or older make up 19% of the nearly 40,000 people. A survey conducted by Wisconsin Department of Health Services states that around 51.8% of adults aged 65 and over report having some form of disability.

Disability awareness

Maybe you’re thinking, “Well, I’m not disabled,” or thinking, “This doesn’t apply to my family or me, so why should I care?”

Disability is the only minority group that you can become a part of at any point in your life.

When you continue to live, you are likely to develop disabilities.

Therefore, giving a hoot is valuable.

Just on the off chance that someday you don’t recover from a viral illness, you get cancer, you get into a car accident, maybe you lose your hearing, you take an unpredictable fall, or any other intervention happens that causes you to become disabled, wouldn’t you like to know that being an ally made the disability world a better one for yourself too?

I hope it’s never you or the one you love, but there are so many disabilities that cannot be prevented or will always impact our community, and that is okay.

Disability pride is for all of us.

For those without disabilities, it’s a month to honor and celebrate those with disabilities and their unwavering contributions to the world. The 2026 Disability Pride Month theme is “The World Works Better With Us.”

This celebratory month offers a moment to pause, reflect on the journey, and acknowledge the struggles and successes of people with disabilities.

Disability Pride Month is a way to help counteract ableism, promote inclusion, and strive for acceptance.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law on July 26, 1990, coinciding with Disability Pride Month. The ADA serves as legal protections for disabled individuals.

During July, we celebrate the identity of disabled people, cherish their culture, and acknowledge the value of the ADA and its protections.

In society, disabled people are forced to feel less, smaller, and inconvenient.

This month gives space to the disabled populations in the United States so that disabled individuals can rise up in the face of the world trying to make people feel less than their worth.

Supporting disabled individuals

If you want to be supportive, but don’t know where to start, ponder what I am about to say…individuals with disabilities know that their lives are often different and more complicated than people without disabilities.

Being an ally makes a difference in creating a more diverse and accommodating world.

1. Use inclusive language that pertains to the group you are acknowledging.
   • The language people use can reflect disability awareness. There is a movement that believes “person-first language” is the most appropriate way to speak about those with disabilities. In my opinion, inclusive language pertains to each individual and their preferences. Some prefer to say “I am autistic” vs. stating “I am a person with Autism.” Be attentive to the wishes of the individual with a disability, and if you don’t know, err on the side of caution using person-first language.
2. Accommodations-
   • Be accommodating to those in your life. Public accommodations and accommodations in your private life can look different. Accommodations are different for each individual with disabilities. Providing accommodations in a public space c include providing an interpreter, an accessible bathroom, installing automatic doors, and being attentive to someone’s allergies. Furthermore, in your personal life, accommodations could include scheduling events or activities that respect if someone is sensitive to sound, heat or cold. Likewise, an adjustment may also include not wearing perfume or spraying fragrances in bathrooms to protect those with conditions like migraines, allergies, and scent sensitivities.
3. Ask before insisting or assuming.
   • People with disabilities are capable. Before helping or assuming their needs, ask the individual if there is something you can do or a way you can help.
4. Provide support
   • Visit someone when they are hospitalized (if they are okay with it), shop at stores that employ people with disabilities or shop at establishments owned by people with disabilities, make donations that assist those with disabilities or chronic conditions, invest in researching certain conditions that may pertain to someone you know.
5. Vote and engage civically to support individuals with disabilities
   • Support policies that impact those with disabilities
   • Vote for candidates who support policies that support people who have disabilities
   • Show support for nonprofits and groups promoting inclusion and accessibility
   • Utilize and express the value of public assistance programs

This list is limited to 5 ways you can be supportive; there are endless ways to show your commitment to being an ally.

The best rule of thumb: treat people as you would want to be treated and advocate for those with disabilities as if you are the disabled individual.