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In 2 essay collections, writers with disabilities tell their own stories.

Ilana Masad

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More than 1 in 5 people living in the U.S. has a disability, making it the largest minority group in the country.

Despite the civil rights law that makes it illegal to discriminate against a person based on disability status — Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990 — only 40 percent of disabled adults in what the Brookings Institute calls "prime working age," that is 25-54, are employed. That percentage is almost doubled for non-disabled adults of the same age. But even beyond the workforce — which tends to be the prime category according to which we define useful citizenship in the U.S. — the fact is that people with disabilities (or who are disabled — the language is, for some, interchangeable, while others have strong rhetorical and political preferences), experience a whole host of societal stigmas that range from pity to disbelief to mockery to infantilization to fetishization to forced sterilization and more.

But disabled people have always existed, and in two recent essay anthologies, writers with disabilities prove that it is the reactions, attitudes, and systems of our society which are harmful, far more than anything their own bodies throw at them.

About Us: Essays from the Disability Series of the New York Times, edited by Peter Catapano and Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, collects around 60 essays from the column, which began in 2016, and divides them into eight self-explanatory sections: Justice, Belonging, Working, Navigating, Coping, Love, Family, and Joy. The title, which comes from the 1990s disability rights activist slogan "Nothing about us without us," explains the book's purpose: to give those with disabilities the platform and space to write about their own experiences rather than be written about.

While uniformly brief, the essays vary widely in terms of tone and topic. Some pieces examine particular historical horrors in which disability was equated with inhumanity, like the "The Nazis' First Victims Were the Disabled" by Kenny Fries (the title says it all) or "Where All Bodies Are Exquisite" by Riva Lehrer, in which Lehrer, who was born with spina bifida in 1958, "just as surgeons found a way to close the spina bifida lesion," visits the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia. There, she writes:

"I am confronted with a large case full of specimen jars. Each jar contains a late-term fetus, and all of the fetuses have the same disability: Their spinal column failed to fuse all the way around their spinal cord, leaving holes (called lesions) in their spine. [...] I stand in front of these tiny humans and try not to pass out. I have never seen what I looked like on the day I was born."

Later, she adds, "I could easily have ended up as a teaching specimen in a jar. But luck gave me a surgeon."

Other essays express the joys to be found in experiences unfamiliar to non-disabled people, such as the pair of essays by Molly McCully Brown and Susannah Nevison in which the two writers and friends describe the comfort and intimacy between them because of shared — if different — experiences; Brown writes at the end of her piece:

"We're talking about our bodies, and then not about our bodies, about her dog, and my classes, and the zip line we'd like to string between us [... a]nd then we're talking about our bodies again, that sense of being both separate and not separate from the skin we're in. And it hits me all at once that none of this is in translation, none of this is explaining. "

From the cover of Resistance and Hope: Essays by Disabled People, edited by Alice Wong Disability Visibility Project hide caption

From the cover of Resistance and Hope: Essays by Disabled People, edited by Alice Wong

While there's something of value in each of these essays, partially because they don't toe to a single party line but rather explore the nuances of various disabilities, there's an unfortunate dearth of writers with intellectual disabilities in this collection. I also noticed that certain sections focused more on people who've acquired a disability during their lifetime and thus went through a process of mourning, coming to terms with, or overcoming their new conditions. While it's true — and emphasized more than once — that many of us, as we age, will become disabled, the process of normalization must begin far earlier if we're to become a society that doesn't discriminate against or segregate people with disabilities.

One of the contributors to About Us, disability activist and writer Alice Wong, edited and published another anthology just last year, Resistance and Hope: Essays by Disabled People , through the Disability Visibility Project which publishes and supports disability media and is partnered with StoryCorps. The e-book, which is available in various accessible formats, features 17 physically and/or intellectually disabled writers considering the ways in which resistance and hope intersect. And they do — and must, many of these writers argue — intersect, for without a hope for a better future, there would be no point to such resistance. Attorney and disability justice activist Shain M. Neumeir writes:

"Those us who've chosen a life of advocacy and activism aren't hiding from the world in a bubble as the alt-right and many others accuse us of doing. Anything but. Instead, we've chosen to go back into the fires that forged us, again and again, to pull the rest of us out, and to eventually put the fires out altogether."

You don't go back into a burning building unless you hope to find someone inside that is still alive.

The anthology covers a range of topics: There are clear and necessary explainers — like disability justice advocate and organizer Lydia X. Z. Brown's "Rebel — Don't Be Palatable: Resisting Co-optation and Fighting for the World We Want" — about what disability justice means, how we work towards it, and where such movements must resist both the pressures of systemic attacks (such as the threatened cuts to coverage expanded by the Affordable Care Act) and internal gatekeeping and horizontal oppression (such as a community member being silenced due to an unpopular or uninformed opinion). There are essays that involve the work of teaching towards a better future, such as community lawyer Talila A. Lewis's "the birth of resistance: courageous dreams, powerful nobodies & revolutionary madness" which opens with a creative classroom writing prompt: "The year is 2050. There are no prisons. What does justice look like?" And there are, too, personal meditations on what resistance looks like for people who don't always have the mobility or ability to march in the streets or confront their lawmakers in person, as Ojibwe writer Mari Kurisato explains:

"My resistance comes from who I am as a Native and as an LGBTQIA woman. Instinctively, the first step is reaching out and making connections across social media and MMO [massively multiplayer online] games, the only places where my social anxiety lets me interact with people on any meaningful level."

The authors of these essays mostly have a clear activist bent, and are working, lauded, active people; they are gracious, vivid parts of society. Editor Alice Wong demonstrates her own commitments in the diversity of these writers' lived experiences: they are people of color and Native folk, they encompass the LGBTQIA+ spectrum, they come from different class backgrounds, and their disabilities range widely. They are also incredibly hopeful: Their commitment to disability justice comes despite many being multiply marginalized. Artist and poet Noemi Martinez, who is queer, chronically ill, and a first generation American, writes that "Not all communities are behind me and my varied identities, but I defend, fight, and work for the rights of the members of all my communities." It cannot be easy to fight for those who oppress parts of you, and yet this is part of Martinez's commitment.

While people with disabilities have long been subjected to serve as "inspirations" for the non-disabled, this anthology's purpose is not to succumb to this gaze, even though its authors' drive, creativity, and true commitment to justice and reform is apparent. Instead, these essays are meant to spur disabled and non-disabled people alike into action, to remind us that even if we can't see the end result, it is the fight for equality and better conditions for us all that is worth it. As activist and MFA student Aleksei Valentin writes:

"Inspiration doesn't come first. Even hope doesn't come first. Action comes first. As we act, as we speak, as we resist, we find our inspiration, our hope, that which helps us inspire others and keep moving forward, no matter the setbacks and no matter the defeats."

Ilana Masad is an Israeli American fiction writer, critic and founder/host of the podcast The Other Stories . Her debut novel, All My Mother's Lovers, is forthcoming from Dutton in 2020.

Disability Studies: Foundations & Key Concepts

This non-exhaustive reading list highlights some of the key debates and conceptual shifts in disability studies.

Disability studies emerged out of the disability civil rights movement in the late twentieth century. Early scholarship distinguishes the medical model of disability, which locates physical and mental impairments in individual bodies, from the social model, which understands the world as disabling people. The social model names both architectural and attitudinal barriers as the cause of disablement. Over the last few decades, the field has expanded to include individuals with a wide range of disabilities—not just physical conditions, but also mental and chronic ones.

This list, far from exhaustive, highlights some of the key debates and conceptual shifts in the field.  In addition to showcasing disability studies’ interdisciplinary focus, the list traces the relationship between D.S. and other minority fields of study. At its broadest, disability studies encourages scholars to value disability as a form of cultural difference. As the sources below reveal, ability should not be the default when it comes to human worth.

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Asch, Adrienne. “Recognizing Death while Affirming Life: Can End of Life Reform Uphold a Disabled Person’s Interest in Continued Life?” The Hastings Center Report , 2005

Bioethics scholar Adrienne Asch is one of the first scholars to bring a disability studies approach to bioethics. This essay addresses U.S. policy regarding decisions for end-of-life treatment and, more broadly, it critiques discourse surrounding “quality of life.” Asch attacks the slogan “better off dead than disabled” by showing how disability does not necessarily diminish one’s life. Instead, she argues, healthcare practitioners should focus on forms of care that give disabled people independence. She also offers pragmatic suggestions for how caretakers can affirm the humanity of patients receiving end-of-life treatment.

Baynton, Douglas. “Slaves, Immigrants, and Suffragists: The Uses of Disability in Citizenship Debates.” PMLA , 2005

Douglas Baynton’s groundbreaking essay foregrounds disability in accounts of American history. He assesses three U.S. debates regarding citizenship: the civil rights movement, women’s suffrage, and immigration legislation. This essay considers how disability has been used as a justification for the oppression of marginalized populations. For example, slaves were said to become “crazy” if they were granted freedom. Women were often described as mentally incapable of receiving an education. And immigrants have been cast as disabled due to racial difference. Baynton explores how attending to disability in its own right (rather than as a symptom of misogyny or racism) enables an intersectional analysis.

Brueggemann, Brenda Jo, Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, Georgina Kleege. “What Her Body Taught (Or, Teaching about and with a Disability): A Conversation.” Feminist Studies , 2005

Written from the perspective of three female scholars with disabilities, this essay is one of the first pieces of scholarship to address the presence of disabled faculty in the classroom. Brueggemann, Garland-Thomson, and Kleege explore the tension between wanting their disabilities to be normalized, but also wanting them to be present in students’ minds. In addition to discussing the difficulty of disclosure in the classroom, they explore how educators might adopt different approaches to teaching to accommodate instructors’ disabilities.

Davis, Lennard. “Crips Strike Back: The Rise of Disability Studies.” American Literary History , 1999

This essay reviews three publications that address disability studies from a humanities-based perspective. While D.S. first emerged in the social sciences, Davis makes a case for the centrality of disability studies scholarship in literary studies. More broadly, he proposes that disability studies should no longer be considered a narrow or specialized field. It’s applicable to us all.

Donaldson, Elizabeth J. “The Corpus of the Madwoman: Toward a Feminist Disability Studies Theory of Embodiment and Mental Illness.” NWSA Journal , 2002

This essay takes up the figure of the madwoman in literature. Adopting a feminist disability studies approach, Donaldson critiques the way feminist scholars read madwomen as merely symptomatic of patriarchal oppression, which discounts the reality of mental disability. She is resistant to framing disability as a metaphor and advocates for readings that consider disability alongside questions of gender.

Erevelles, Nirmala. “Race.” Keywords for Disability Studies (2015)

This short essay gives an overview of the relationship between disability studies and critical race studies. Erevelles shows how disability has been aligned with race. However, analogizing race to disability (or saying, “disability is like race”) eliminates the specificity of both identity categories. She uses special education as an example because it is a site where racial segregation takes place on the premise of disability. By attending to disabled people of color, she argues that we can achieve a more nuanced analysis, which accounts for how social forces like poverty and involuntary institutionalization exacerbate different forms of social marginalization.

Garland-Thomson, Rosemarie. “Feminist Disability Studies.” Signs , 2005

In placing feminist studies and disability studies in conversation, Garland-Thomson argues that both fields work to de-naturalize assumptions about embodiment and social roles. Her essay explores a range of pressing social issues, including selective abortion, caretaking, and reproductive rights.

Ginsburg, Faye and Rayna Rapp. “Disability Worlds.” Annual Review of Anthropology , 2013

Ginsburg and Rapp call for a critical approach to disability in the field of anthropology. Bridging the gap between the medical and anthropological fields, they shift toward understanding impairment as both environmental and cultural. They also consider what ethnography can bring to questions of disability within anthropological study.

Hershey, Laura. “Disabled Women Organize Worldwide.” o ff our backs , 2003

Recounting events from the NGO Forum on Women in China (1995) and the International Leadership Forum for Women with Disabilities in Maryland (1996), disability activist Laura Hershey moves beyond Western definitions of disability to offer a global perspective. In addition to showing how disabled women are doubly discriminated against, Hershey outlines how gender can influence the international movement for disability rights. She also considers how issues like poverty and illiteracy speak to the feminist and disability movements.

James, Jennifer C. and Cynthia Wu. “Editors’ Introduction: Race, Ethnicity, Disability, and Literature: Intersections and Interventions.” MELUS , 2006

This essay brings ethnic studies into conversation with debates regarding disability representation. From the nineteenth-century freakshow to forced sterilization, people of color have been disproportionately disabled, and James and Wu call for an intersectional approach to these complex subjectivities.

Kleege, Georgina. “Blind Rage: An Open Letter to Helen Keller.” Southwest Review , 1998

In this more personal essay, Kleege interrogates Helen Keller’s status as a disability icon. Kleege critiques the way disability has been individualized, refuting both tragic and triumphant representations of impairment. In describing her experience navigating everyday life as a blind woman, Kleege attends to the realities of living in a world not made for disabled people.

Kudlick, Catherine. “Disability History: Why We Need Another ‘Other.’” The American Historical Review , 2003

In this groundbreaking essay, Kudlick moves to situate disability studies in historical scholarship. Reframing disability as valuable, she argues that a renewed attention to bodily and mental impairments can revise our accounts of nearly all events in history—from women’s rights to labor movements. Her essay offers a comprehensive overview of books and articles pertaining to disability history, and, more specifically, deaf history.

Linker, Beth. “On the Borderland of Medical and Disability History: A Survey of Both Fields.” Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 2013

This essay addresses why the history of medicine and disability studies fail to interact. Linker begins by critiquing disability studies’ resistance to medical discourse. She argues that certain disabled people, especially those who are living with chronic conditions, often rely heavily on medical care, which is why the “medical model” should not be so readily dismissed. In turn, while disability history is typically understood as different from medical history, especially in the U.S., Linker argues for a greater need for cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Linton, Simi. “Reassigning Meaning.” Claiming Disability: Knowledge and Identity ,1988

One of the most foundational essays in the field of disability studies, Linton outlines how language has been important to naming disability as a political rather than medical category. She also addresses the problem of “overcoming rhetoric,” which fails to address disabled people’s need for access.

McRuer, Robert. “Crip Eye for the Normate Guy: Queer Theory and the Discipling of Disability Studies.” PMLA , 2005

McRuer is one of the first scholars to assess the relationship between disability and queerness. In this essay, he analyzes how the popular show The Queer Eye for the Straight Guy normalizes the disabled body. While representations of queer life often resist disability, he argues that queer and disability studies share a resistance to normalization, which should be embraced in future scholarship and activism.

Price, Margaret. Mad at School: Rhetorics of Mental Disability and Academic Life . University of Michigan, 2011

Price offers one of the first substantive accounts of mental disability, which has come belatedly to studies of physical disability. She focuses on higher education as a site that stigmatizes mental disability in its focus on rationality, cohesion, and cognitive agility. Her book offers a range of suggestions, many of which are pedagogical, for how mental disability might revitalize academic life.

Siebers, Tobin. “Disability in Theory: From Social Constructionism to the New Realism of the Body.” American Literary History , 2001

Siebers critiques the social model of disability, arguing that it fails to account for the experience of individual bodies. His term “the new realism of the body” calls for an assessment of the bodily effects of disability, which often cannot be altered through environmental transformations alone.

Wendell, Susan. “Unhealthy Disabled: Treating Chronic Illness as Disabilities.” Hypatia , 2001 

This article broadens the definition of disability to include individuals with chronic illnesses.  While people in the disability community often distinguish themselves from people who are ill, not all disabled people, she observes, are healthy. Wendell questions some of the main assumptions in disability activism and scholarship regarding social justice and reform. Dismantling the environmental effects of disablement will not always eliminate a body’s suffering, she argues.

Williamson, Bess. “Access.” Keywords for Disability Studies (2015)

This short essay gives a comprehensive account of the history of access and why it is a key term in D.S. Williamson argues that paying attention to access turns our focus away from the individual, highlighting instead the disabling makeup of the social world. Although access is easy to define, Williamson notes that it is hard to implement in practice because disabled people have conflicting needs.

Editor’s Note: This list has been updated to include publication dates.

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About Us: Essays from the Disability Series of the New York Times Hardcover – September 3, 2019

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Based on the pioneering New York Times series, About Us collects the personal essays and reflections that have transformed the national conversation around disability.

Boldly claiming a space in which people with disabilities can be seen and heard as they are―not as others perceive them― About Us captures the voices of a community that has for too long been stereotyped and misrepresented. Speaking not only to those with disabilities, but also to their families, coworkers and support networks, the authors in About Us offer intimate stories of how they navigate a world not built for them.

Since its 2016 debut, the popular New York Times ’ “Disability” column has transformed the national dialogue around disability. Now, echoing the refrain of the disability rights movement, “Nothing about us without us,” this landmark collection gathers the most powerful essays from the series that speak to the fullness of human experience―stories about first romance, childhood shame and isolation, segregation, professional ambition, child-bearing and parenting, aging and beyond.

Reflecting on the fraught conversations around disability―from the friend who says “I don’t think of you as disabled,” to the father who scolds his child with attention differences, “Stop it stop it stop it what is wrong with you?”―the stories here reveal the range of responses, and the variety of consequences, to being labeled as “disabled” by the broader public.

Here, a writer recounts her path through medical school as a wheelchair user―forging a unique bridge between patients with disabilities and their physicians. An acclaimed artist with spina bifida discusses her art practice as one that invites us to “stretch ourselves toward a world where all bodies are exquisite.” With these notes of triumph, these stories also offer honest portrayals of frustration over access to medical care, the burden of social stigma and the nearly constant need to self-advocate in the public realm.

In its final sections, About Us turns to the questions of love, family and joy to show how it is possible to revel in life as a person with disabilities. Subverting the pervasive belief that disability results in relentless suffering and isolation, a quadriplegic writer reveals how she rediscovered intimacy without touch, and a mother with a chronic illness shares what her condition has taught her young children.

With a foreword by Andrew Solomon and introductory comments by co-editors Peter Catapano and Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, About Us is a landmark publication of the disability movement for readers of all backgrounds, forms and abilities.

• Print length 304 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Liveright
• Publication date September 3, 2019
• Dimensions 6.4 x 1.2 x 9.6 inches
• ISBN-10 1631495852
• ISBN-13 978-1631495854
• See all details

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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Liveright; Reprint edition (September 3, 2019)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1631495852
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1631495854
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.17 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.4 x 1.2 x 9.6 inches
• #282 in Schizophrenia (Books)
• #434 in Physical Impairments (Books)
• #2,880 in Popular Psychology Pathologies

About the authors

Andrew solomon.

Andrew Solomon is a professor of psychology at Columbia University, president of PEN American Center, and a regular contributor to The New Yorker, NPR, and The New York Times Magazine. A lecturer and activist, he is the author of Far and Away: Essays from the Brink of Change: Seven Continents, Twenty-Five Years; the National Book Critics Circle Award-winner Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity, which has won thirty additional national awards; and The Noonday Demon; An Atlas of Depression, which won the 2001 National Book Award, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and has been published in twenty-four languages. He has also written a novel, A Stone Boat, which was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times First Fiction Award and The Irony Tower: Soviet Artists in a Time of Glasnost. His TED talks have been viewed over ten million times. He lives in New York and London and is a dual national. For more information, visit the author’s website at AndrewSolomon.com

Ben Mattlin

BEN MATTLIN is the author of DISABILITY PRIDE: DISPATCHES FROM A POST-ADA WORLD, IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH, and MIRACLE BOY GROWS UP.

Based in Los Angeles, he is a senior writer at Financial Advisor magazine. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, CNN, Time, Newsweek, Chicago Tribune, Self magazine, and USA Today, and has been broadcast on NPR’s “Morning Edition.” He's also a former contributing editor at Institutional Investor, the late Windows In Financial Services, Dealmaker, Buyside, and Individual Investor magazines.

Non-print credits include the Mark Taper Forum, Blonde and Brunette Productions, and the children's television program BIKER MICE FROM MARS.

He has a nice butt, too, but you'll never see it because he's always sitting in a wheelchair.

His writing about disability-related causes led to appearances on radio and multiple podcasts, just like everybody else. He's also been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, and Penthouse.

Born in New York City in 1962 with spinal muscular atrophy, a congenital muscle weakness, Mattlin graduated cum laude from Harvard University in 1984.

He and his wife have two adult daughters, a cat, and a turtle.

Rosemarie Garland Thomson

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About Us: Essays from the Disability Series of the NY Times

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Boldly claiming a space in which people with disabilities can be seen and heard as they are--not as others perceive them--About Us captures the voices of a community that has for too long been stereotyped and misrepresented. Speaking not only to those with disabilities, but also to their families, coworkers and support networks, the authors in About Us offer intimate stories of how they navigate a world not built for them.Since its 2016 debut, the popular New York Times' "Disability" column has transformed the national dialogue around disability. Now, echoing the refrain of the disability rights movement, "Nothing about us without us," this landmark collection gathers the most powerful essays from the series that speak to the fullness of human experience--stories about first romance, childhood shame and isolation, segregation, professional ambition, child-bearing and parenting, aging and beyond.Reflecting on the fraught conversations around disability--from the friend who says "I don't think of you as disabled," to the father who scolds his child with attention differences, "Stop it stop it stop it what is wrong with you?"--the stories here reveal the range of responses, and the variety of consequences, to being labeled as "disabled" by the broader public.Here, a writer recounts her path through medical school as a wheelchair user--forging a unique bridge between patients with disabilities and their physicians. An acclaimed artist with spina bifida discusses her art practice as one that invites us to "stretch ourselves toward a world where all bodies are exquisite." With these notes of triumph, these stories also offer honest portrayals of frustration over access to medical care, the burden of social stigma and the nearly constant need to self-advocate in the public realm.In its final sections, About Us turns to the questions of love, family and joy to show how it is possible to revel in life as a person with disabilities. Subverting the pervasive belief that disability results in relentless suffering and isolation, a quadriplegic writer reveals how she rediscovered intimacy without touch, and a mother with a chronic illness shares what her condition has taught her young children.With a foreword by Andrew Solomon and introductory comments by co-editors Peter Catapano and Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, About Us is a landmark publication of the disability movement for readers of all backgrounds, forms and abilities.

Topics Include: Becoming Disabled * Mental Illness is not a Horror Show * Disability and the Right to Choose * Brain Injury and the Civil Right We Don't Think * The Deaf Body in Public Space * The Everyday Anxiety of the Stutterer * I Use a Wheelchair. And Yes, I'm Your Doctor * A Symbol for "Nobody" That's Really for Everybody * Flying While Blind * My $1,000 Anxiety Attack * A Girlfriend of My Own * The Three-Legged Dog Who Carried Me * Passing My Disability On to My Children * I Have Diabetes. Am I to Blame? * Learning to Sing Again * A Disabled Life is a Life Worth Living

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What the A.D.A. Means to Me

We asked the disability rights activists Judy Heumann, Alice Wong and Haben Girma to reflect on the 30th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act. They said the work of a civil rights activist is never done.

We Should Celebrate. But There Is Still Work to Do.

Listen to this essay.

This essay is based on an interview of Judy Heumann by Kaitlyn Wells. Ms. Heumann is the co-author of “Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist,” with Kristen Joiner , and is featured in the award-winning Netflix documentary “ Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution.”

I was 18 months old when my parents learned I had polio. It was 1949, and things that were typical for children were not so typical for me. I was denied the right to go to school because the staff did not know how to accommodate a student who could not walk. Instead, I received just two-and-a-half hours of home instruction each week. People like me who did not fit into a neat little box had no laws to protect them. We were not advancing in our education and no one had expectations for our futures.

This discrimination continued when I pursued my teaching career. Though I passed all my exams, I was denied a teaching license in 1970 because New York City’s Board of Education thought I could not safely evacuate my students in case of a fire. There was no one who looked like me — who used a wheelchair — fighting for this right. I filed a lawsuit and I won .

I began to see other disabled people fighting for inclusion, and I found empowerment in our collaboration. On April 5, 1977, more than a hundred of us occupied a San Francisco federal building for what became known as the 504 Sit-in. We had fought with the Carter administration to sign regulations implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibited programs that received federal funding from discriminating against disabled people, but after years of asking, 504 still had not been signed. We occupied the building for almost a month until our demands were met. Section 504 was key because it laid the foundation for the Americans With Disabilities Act.

The A.D.A. helped open building doors, allowed us to earn an education and made it illegal to discriminate against a qualified person for employment. We should celebrate the strides we have made. But there is still work to do. The way society thinks about disability needs to evolve, as too many people view disability as something to loathe or fear. By changing this mentality, by recognizing how disabled people enrich our communities, we can all be empowered to make sure disabled people are included.

Real Culture Change Takes Time

This essay is based on an interview of Alice Wong by Kaitlyn Wells. Ms. Wong is the founder of the Disability Visibility Project and the editor of “Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century.”

Yes, things are better with the A.D.A. We have elevators, ramps and closed captioning. But the A.D.A. is not a magic wand. The A.D.A. can only do so much to correct inequalities in a society that is uncomfortable with disability.

There is a lot of hostility rooted in our culture’s very narrow idea of who is disabled. Many people are inherently suspicious if someone does not look like them or is not “normal,” and those biases are compounded against disabled people of color. We should not have to assimilate to a standard of “normal” to gain acceptance. And so it is up to us to dismantle these systems and expand what it means to be disabled: We are a range in diversity, not a monolithic group.

Disability spans cultures and races, is both visible and invisible. Black and brown disabled people still receive pushback by white disabled people who do not want to acknowledge that racism and other forms of oppression exist, but these incidents of racism and microaggressions wear us down.

The A.D.A. is important, but culture change, real culture change takes much longer to achieve. Anyone can create this change by speaking up in everyday situations, such as considering someone’s dietary restrictions at a dinner party, asking for an accessible venue at a company event and or simply believing that those who request accommodations need them. We all have a shared responsibility to consider others, regardless of whether they reveal their disability. Speak up not only for your own disability but for invisible disabilities, and disabled people of color as well. Be more deliberate. We are here, and we will always be here.

Using the Law to Pursue Justice

This essay was written by Haben Girma, a lawyer, public speaker and author of “ Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law .”

Our guest speaker, blind herself, shared three words for dismantling discrimination. “Threaten to sue.”

I laughed nervously with the other blind teens. Then her message sank in: The A.D.A’s promise of equality depends on us. Learning about the A.D.A. ignited a spark, powering my flight through high school, college and finally law school.

During my first year as a lawyer, blind readers told me about barriers on Scribd , a large digital library of e-books, audiobooks and documents. My throat clenched remembering all the times I longed to touch a story in Braille. Blind people navigate websites and apps through screen readers, software converting visual information to speech or physical dots popping up on a connected Braille computer. Tech companies following accessibility principles can design engaging apps for both disabled and nondisabled customers. Companies ignoring the market of more than one billion disabled people risk facing litigation.

The A.D.A. empowered me to pursue justice. My colleagues and I sent Scribd a letter describing the issues and inviting them to work with us on a solution. We received no response. So on July 29, 2014, my 26th birthday, we sued them.

Scribd argued the A.D.A. did not extend to virtual places, but I vehemently disagreed in our briefs to the court. In National Federation of the Blind et al v. Scribd, Inc., the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont held that the A.D.A. does in fact apply to online businesses. Scribd soon agreed to collaborate with the National Federation of the Blind on making its library accessible.

Now I am the one urging disabled teens to study the A.D.A. and demand inclusion. These days I advocate change through writing and consulting, and speaking to schools, companies and government agencies about my memoir, “ Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law .” The collective efforts of disability activists launched the A.D.A., and we intend to continue steering toward a barrier-free future.

Home         About the Author         Key Documents         Accessibility

• There Oughta’ Be A Law: Discriminatory Short-Circuit of Summer Job
• There Oughta’ Be a Law: The Bob Brunner Story
• A Dozen Things to Know About the ADA
• Who Really Wrote the ADA?
• Landmark Education Rights Precedent: The Gail H. Story
• Cross-Country Wheelchair Trek and Statue of Liberty Accessibility
• Tom Gilhool and Me
• Disability, Pandemic, and Discrimination: People With Disabilities Shafted Again
• Early Years with a Disability
• Family Background and the Gray Period
• Disability Rights Movement
• To the National Council
• Toward Independence and the Vision of an ADA
• Prelude to Drafting the Original ADA Bill
• Drafting and Introduction of the Original ADA Bill
• ADA 1990 & Beyond

DISABILITY, PANDEMIC, AND DISCRIMINATION: PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES SHAFTED AGAIN

This essay identifies a number of ways in which measures to address the COVID-19 pandemic have shafted persons with disabilities, and analyzes how and why people with disabilities were shortchanged. As all Americans and all agencies of government and the private sector do their parts to end the pandemic and get the country back on its feet, they must do so in a way that ensures equal justice and avoids discrimination against people with disabilities. Doing so involves two interrelated components: (1) Recognizing and putting into action certain fundamental principles about fair and humane treatment of people with disabilities; and (2) Operationalizing policies and measures addressing the COVID-19 crisis to reflect the needs and respect the human and legal rights of people with disabilities.

By Robert L. Burgdorf Jr.

March 19, 2021

With special thanks to my daughter Molly Burgdorf, a disability advocate, lawyer, and a woman with a disability, whose generous input and ideas were integral to  the conceptualization and substance of this essay.

On March, 18, 2020, less than a week after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic, the National Council on Disability (NCD) issued this warning:

[P]eople with chronic illnesses and other disabilities have been left behind, denied resources to survive, and as a result, have suffered great losses of life because of lack of emergency preparation that respects every life, and by outright discrimination by medical practitioners who, through ignorance of the law or due to the belief that people with disabilities are less valuable, and therefore less deserving of medical care, than those who are not. Such prejudice has fed into the belief that people with disabilities, especially the most weak and vulnerable, should be put out of their misery. NCD opposes these views and any medical actions that implicitly and explicitly disregard the dignity of the lives of people with disabilities. These beliefs have always been dangerous – but COVID-19 raises NCD’s concerns to an unprecedented level. [1]

Mistreatment, marginalization, and even annihilation of people with disabilities are nothing new.

The history of society’s formal methods for dealing with [people with disabilities] can be summed up in two words: segregation and inequality. Individuals with [disabilities] have faced an almost universal conspiracy to shunt them aside from the mainstream of society and to deny them an equal share of benefits and opportunities available to others. [2]

Since the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, public awareness and recognition of the legal and human rights of people with disabilities have been growing. The ADA was widely heralded as ending “second-class citizenship” of people with disabilities. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, such high hopes and positive trends have been undercut by disregard for and maltreatment of people with disabilities in many of the programs, practices, rules, and policies government and private agencies have developed in response to COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has injured and killed all kinds of people. As of this writing, some 119,000,000 cases and over 2,600,000 deaths have occurred worldwide, with more than 29,000,000 cases and nearly 530,000 deaths in the United States; and untold numbers of people are suffering ongoing, harmful after-effects of the virus. Unquestionably, some parts of society – including Black people, Latinx people, indigenous people, older adults, poor people, health-care workers, L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ people, and prisoners and detainees – have been hit particularly hard.

The virus has also slammed people with disabilities. In February 2021, American broadcast journalist Amy Goodman hosted an episode of her Democracy Now! television and radio program that featured a panel of disability activists describing the brutal consequences of discrimination on the basis of disability in the face of the pandemic. Goodman began the segment by recognizing the “devastating impact” that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on people with disabilities, noting that they “are two to three times more likely to die from COVID.” [3]

Yet, too often people with disabilities are inappropriately excluded, ignored, or treated badly in procedures and policies deployed to address the virus. The purpose of this essay is to shed light on and analyze why and how COVID measures have severely shortchanged persons with disabilities.

The following outline summarizes major topics:

I.  COVID-19 Is Ultra Harmful to People with Disabilities

• Because of Increased Medical Vulnerability
• Because of Discrimination and Bias by Medical Personnel
• Based on Other Systemic Inequities that Predated the Pandemic

II.  COVID-19 Measures and Policies Discriminate Against People with Disabilities

• Discrimination in the Allocation of Treatment and Services
• Delay and Failures in Addressing Congregate Settings Issues
• Woefully Inadequate Data Collection
• Absence of Needed Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Inadequacies in COVID Testing Programs
• Inequities, Confusion, and Frustration in Vaccine Allocation for People with Disabilities
• Devalued Vaccination Status of Children and Adolescents

III.  Recent Developments and Current Status

• Progress in Dealing with the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Ongoing Flaws and Problems for People with Disabilities in COVID-19 Pandemic Efforts
• Much More Needs to Be Done to Achieve Equal Access to Medical Equipment, Services, Facilities, Treatment, and Vaccinations

IV.  Going Forward from Here

• Fundamental Guiding Principles
• Rectifying COVID-19 Policy and Practice Shortcomings

A. Because of Increased Medical Vulnerability

• Heightened Susceptibility to COVID-19 of People with Disabilities

People with disabilities are at greater risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19. CDC (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has published lists of some medical conditions that cause increased risk for being infected and for severe illness or death from the virus. [4]   As one disability activist aptly observed: “Studies show that people with disabilities who contract the virus are much more likely to die from it. … The science says people with disabilities are disproportionately dying of COVID.” [5]   Moreover, aside from medical conditions, a significant proportion of the population with disabilities are themselves Black, Latinx, indigenous, older, unemployed, poor, homeless, L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+, of higher weight, essential workers, or members of other groups that are at high risk from COVID infection. Having more than one risk factor for contracting the coronavirus and suffering serious consequences from it exponentially multiplies the perils for people with disabilities. It also makes such people prone to what has been termed “intersectional discrimination,” a double-dose of discriminatory treatment based on their overlapping identities or circumstances. [6]

B. Because of Discrimination and Bias by Medical Personnel

• Bias Against People with Disabilities

We people with disabilities are well aware that we often get short shrift in society. In a 1997 report, the National Council on Disability (NCD) observed that “[o]ne of the hallmarks of societal attitudes toward disabilities has been a tendency of people without disabilities to overestimate the negative aspects and underestimate the positive features of the lives of those who have disabilities.” [7]   NCD added that the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights described the negative connotations of disability as “extremely extensive”: “To the fact that a [person with a disability] differs from the norm physically or mentally, people often add a value judgment that such a difference is a big and very negative one.” [8]   It is not surprising that some such misguided attitudes and biased thinking regularly infect the health care industry. In the 1997 report, NCD gave a big tip of the hat to medical professionals:

Many people with disabilities have been great beneficiaries of the miracles of modern medicine. Some owe their very lives and others much of their ability to function to the medical profession. Lifesaving treatments, rehabilitative surgical techniques, new medications, and numerous other medical advances have greatly improved chances for survival, the amelioration of limitations, and options for accommodating disabilities.

But NCD proceeded to make critical judgments of medical treatment of patients with disabilities, noting that people with disabilities frequently see firsthand  evidence that doctors are negatively disposed toward them:

Individuals with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities have encountered numerous kinds of fervently pronounced, but inaccurate predictions by members of the medical profession. Some have been told that they or their children would not survive, or would not regain  consciousness, or would not walk, or would not read, or would not be toilet-trained, or could not live independently, or could not perform particular activities, and yet ultimately found these predictions to be wildly inaccurate.

An April 15, 2020, story by NPR journalist Joseph Shapiro, “People with Disabilities Fear Pandemic Will Worsen Medical Biases,” presented numerous examples of outrageous denials of medical treatment to people with disabilities because of doctors’ prejudice against them. [9] “Almost every person with a disability, or their family, can tell a story of a time when they were treated dismissively or even denied the care they needed,” Shapiro observed. He also described complaints filed by disability groups in several states to challenge crisis of care standards and their application to cut care to individuals with disabilities, prompting the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to strike down an Alabama policy that would have allowed doctors to deny ventilators to some adults and children with intellectual disabilities or people with “moderate to severe dementia.” The Office for Civil Rights declared that “any guidelines for triage of care could not put disabled people and the elderly ‘at the end of the line’ for care.”

Small wonder that in a report issued in February 2021 a coalition of disability rights and civil rights organizations, and academic authorities, supported by scientific citations and poignant examples, declared starkly, though far from surprisingly to the disability community, that “ [d]iscrimination based on disability is pervasive in the medical profession. ” [10]

In addition to a large body of other supportive authority, this conclusion is firmly corroborated by the results of a groundbreaking survey of practicing physicians’ perceptions of people with disabilities and their health care, the first of its kind, also published in February of this year. [11]   Authors of the survey made a number of important and sobering observations: for centuries, societies have stigmatized people with disabilities; physicians often share these societal prejudices toward those having disabilities; more than 30 years after the enactment of the ADA, the population with disabilities “continues to experience inequitable health care on many levels”; large proportions of practicing U.S. physicians appear to hold biased or stigmatized perceptions of people with disabilities; the authors were “unaware of prior studies in which physicians expressed this level of bias toward other populations that also experience disparities in care (for example, racial or ethnic minorities or people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender)”; and found it only reasonable that such explicit bias has deleterious effects on care equity for people with disabilities. Nearly one-fifth of survey respondents “strongly” agreed that patients with disabilities are “often treated unfairly in the health care system.” Reacting to the doctors’ attitudes, Dr. Iezzoni, one of the lead authors of the study said, “I was horrified.” The authors also acknowledged the unfortunate fact that medical schools generally do not include disability topics in their curricula.

The existence of pervasive, detrimental discrimination on the basis of disability in medical care has been and is an indisputable reality that makes people with disabilities more at risk from COVID infection, by keeping them from having a fair and equal chance of obtaining protective measures and equipment, medical treatments, timely COVID-19 vaccination, and other benefits and services for avoiding infection; treating the disease effectively; and lessening its short and long-term health consequences.

C.  Based on Other Systemic Inequities that Predated the Pandemic          

• Where People Live and Receive Services

Living in congregate settings increases the risk of infection and death from COVID-19. A high percentage of people in residential treatment and care facilities are elderly people with disabilities. Placement and confinement of people with disabilities in nursing homes, group homes, and other types of congregate living facilities, including psychiatric hospitals and board and care homes, usually means warehousing people with disabilities in settings that have experienced extremely elevated rates of COVID-19 infections, serious complications, and deaths. Too often, these are situations where social distancing is difficult or practically impossible because of shared rooms, shared facilities, and shared staff.

Being forced to live or remain in these types of places to get the services you need has too often become a veritable death sentence due to high infection and death rates. More than 100,000 deaths of residents and staff in long-term care facilities had been reported as of the last week in November 2020 – a number that is certainly an undercount [consider the example of the Attorney General of the state of New York recently reporting that the State Health Department and Governor Cuomo had underreported deaths from COVID-19 in nursing homes by as much as 50 percent [12] ], and does not include all the types of congregate settings where people with disabilities live and receive services.

• Increased Exposure to COVID Virus

Due to factors such as dependence on close interaction with personal care assistance, nursing care, and household help providers; more reliance on public or shared transportation; lower socio-economic status; and higher rates of homelessness and unemployment; people with disabilities tend to have more frequent contact with people at high risk of having been infected with COVID-19, often in the absence of adequate protective measures and equipment, and other safeguards.

• Prior Health and Medical Care Disparities

People with disabilities have long faced barriers to accessing health care due to structural, systemic, architectural, and communication obstacles. People with disabilities also have higher rates of the types of health conditions (e.g., obesity, smoking, heart disease, and diabetes) that are risk factors for severe illness and higher rates of death from COVID-19.

• Other Exacerbating Factors

Some other problems for people with disabilities, such as the lack of affordable, accessible housing and nutritious food, that predated the pandemic and can impair a person’s health, have been significantly intensified by COVID-19.

• Availability of Health Care and Need for Mental Health Services

A fundamental and growing problem is insufficient timely access to adequate health care for people infected with COVID, many of whom are experiencing long-term or permanent effects. In an environment where the protections of the Affordable Care Act have been continually under threat, exclusion of people with pre-existing conditions or ceilings on coverage created serious difficulties for a growing segment of the population. Broadly inclusive health care is crucial for all people at risk for contracting COVID-19, and particularly for those persons with disabilities who are in higher peril from the virus. Another critical need is for more mental health services to address mental health consequences of the pandemic, both for those who had a history of mental conditions before the pandemic and those newly affected by a surge in conditions generated in the COVID-19 era.

A. Discrimination in the Allocation of Treatment and Services

• Crisis Standards of Care

To guide the administration of health care services and systems during epidemics and pandemics, when medical resources are typically stretched, most states and health care systems have for many years adopted “Crisis Standards of Care.” These standards address a wide range of administrative policies, practices, and decisions, including (1) broad matters such as staffing, supplies, and facility space options; and (2) more specific practices and issues, such as treatment alternatives and criteria, use of PPE, and vaccine allocation. Too often, COVID-19 crisis standards of care have incorporated or engendered discriminatory courses of action toward individuals with disabilities, prompting the filing of discrimination complaints in a number of states. The COVID-19 crisis standards plans or their implementation have in many instances resulted in medical restrictions that devalue the lives of people with disabilities. Examples include inappropriate rationing and reallocation (overtly or covertly) of medical treatment, ventilators and other medical devices; and the deprivation of other necessary and often life-saving medical care.

Crisis standards of care have often reflected a bias against disabled people and older adults. They typically prioritize care towards patients who are younger and do not have disabilities, excluding or de-prioritizing those who have certain health conditions, those who are presumed unlikely to survive in the intermediate or long term, and those presumed to require greater resources to survive the acute episode of illness. Crisis standards of  care, therefore, may direct medical resources away from those with certain disabilities due to medical bias, which can be conscious or unconscious. [13]

In “Disability Rights as a Necessary Framework for Crisis Standards of Care and the Future of Health Care,” published in The Hastings Center Report on June 29, 2020, 14 scholars sounded an alert about the problem of disability bias in the framing of COVID-19 crisis standards of care, and advocated for a shift toward what they called “disability justice” as an alternative. [14]   The essay began:

The COVID‐19 pandemic has highlighted systemic disadvantages that people with disabilities face in the health care system. While catastrophic health emergencies demand an immediate response that often precludes addressing underlying systemic discrimination, there is a moral duty to shine a light on structural disability bias that may distort how crisis standards of care are put into practice.

The authors argued “for the full recognition of the moral equality of [people with disabilities] in formulating crisis standards of care and in modifying social and institutional practices in light of the inequities that the crisis highlights and exacerbates, [so that] the demand ‘Nothing about us without us’ is truly met.” They characterized their essay as offering “concrete recommendations for reforms before, during, and after a public health emergency,” and were hopeful that the “work of disability rights groups during this crisis [will] help advance the field of bioethics so it continues to develop as a disability-conscious field of inquiry and practice.”

In the “Physicians’ Perceptions” study discussed previously, the authors declared that “qualitative research studies involving interviews with people with disability suggest that physicians often make erroneous assumptions about patients’ values and preferences, limiting their health care options and compromising quality of care,” and provided several examples with citations. [15]   They added:

Some physicians believe that they have superior technical knowledge about disabling conditions, but they can be wrong, taking actions that harm patients. An example is physicians incorrectly believing that all patients with spinal cord injury cannot feel pain below the level of their injury and therefore refusing to provide pain relief for procedures below that level, thus causing these patients sometimes excruciating pain.

The authors of the survey pointed out that the ADA prohibits eligibility criteria that screen out people with disabilities or people with particular disabilities from receiving lifesaving treatment, or crisis standards of care that exclude or give lower priority of care for persons with particular medical conditions, giving examples of such denials that would not pass muster under the ADA. Ultimately, the authorities and scholars who worked on the report provided a clear overview of their insights into the application of crisis standards of care:

[T]he COVID-19 pandemic has exposed long-standing aspects of US health care that severely disadvantage people with disabilities. As states  promulgated crisis standards of care to guide decisions allocating scarce resources, such as tests, intensive care unit beds, and mechanical ventilators, some of these standards explicitly excluded people with disabilities. Concerns that crisis standards of care would discriminate against people with disabilities prompted the HHS Office for Civil Rights to warn on March 28, 2020, that “persons with disabilities should not be denied medical care on the basis of stereotypes, assessments of quality of life, or judgments about a person’s relative ‘worth’ based on the presence or absence of disabilities.” Our study underscores that many physicians perceive worse quality of life for people with disabilities. The high prevalence of negative perceptions of living with disabilities raises questions about constituting the triage teams that make critical resource decisions when crisis standards of care are invoked. Proactively assessing implicit and explicit biases toward disability among physicians involved in decision making concerning crisis standards of care is critically important. [Emphasis added]

It is essential that decisions about treatment allocation must be made fairly, based on individualized determinations using current objective medical evidence, and not based on generalized inaccurate assumptions about a person’s disability, or metrics that are unfairly weighted against people with disabilities.

• Visitation Policies Affecting Family Members and Support Personnel

Consistent with CDC guidance, most states and health care facilities issued policies restricting visitors as a containment effort in response to COVID-19. To benefit fully from health care and treatment programs and services, some people with disabilities need to have personal contact with support personnel, not only as provided by the facility, but often by family members or other support persons, to assist them. Such supporters may need to be present in person to: facilitate effective communication with health care providers and other staff; coordinate and provide essential services or participate in treatment; give informed consent; and otherwise facilitate equal access to care and treatment. Contact with family members, and outside medical professionals, including specialists and therapists may be key ingredients to physical and emotional well-being of some individuals with disabilities. Individualized modifications to visitation policies, along with precautions to contain the spread of infection, are needed, but too many states and health care systems have placed unnecessary obstacles between people with disabilities and the crucial assistance of their necessary supporters. Health care providers are required to make accommodations for visitation where needed for essential services or effective communication when the absence of such accommodation would impede equal access to care and services.

B. Delay and Failures in Addressing Existing Congregate Settings Issues

• Fundamental Need to Eliminate Unnecessary Residential Confinement

Eliminating unnecessary confinement in restrictive residential facilities is a critical, baseline issue for people with disabilities – both before and even more since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. The ADA and court decisions interpreting the law sought to end this type of segregation and recognized a right to receive services in the most integrated setting appropriate to the person’s needs. Despite the fact that this is what many people with disabilities want, and that it’s often less expensive, people continue to be stuck in congregate settings rather than in the community.

• Necessity of Enhanced Use of Medicaid Funding for Home and Community-Based Services

Addressing unwarranted confinement of people with disabilities in restrictive residential facilities must include substantially more investment in home and community-based services (HCBS) to provide opportunities for Medicaid beneficiaries to receive services in their own homes or community rather than in institutions or other isolated settings. For many, Medicaid is the only source of funding for the services to support their activities of daily living (bathing, dressing eating, toileting, etc.) This country provides an entitlement to receive these services in a nursing home setting (places where rates of COVID and related mortality have soared), but the same entitlement does not automatically apply to community settings. States can choose, but are not required, to cover the costs for people to receive services and supports in their homes or community, rather than in an institutional setting, but they should opt to facilitate such funding for people with disabilities.

• Heading in the Wrong Direction Regarding Institutional Confinement

Instead of accelerating moving people out and finding ways to help diminish confinement in congregate facilities by promoting the development of community-based alternatives, the pandemic has resulted in suspending plans for individuals’ return to the community, preventing transitioning out of institutions. At the same time, in the name of allocating beds to the most critically ill patients, hospitals have discharged many patients to nursing homes.

C. Woefully Inadequate Data Collection

• Deficient Data on the Impact of COVID-19 on People with Disabilities

There is a paucity of data regarding how the pandemic has affected those with disabilities and their supporters (paid staff, volunteers, and familial supports). Little data are generally available regarding the numbers of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in those groups; and data that have been collected are frequently inaccurate. In one widely publicized incident, the Attorney General of the state of New York recently issued a report stating that the State Health Department and Governor Cuomo had underreported deaths from COVID-19 in nursing home populations by as much as 50 percent. [16]   And such understating of incidence of dire results for those with disabilities is hardly rare. In addition to concerns about undercounting of cases and deaths of people with disabilities, some studies have suggested that all too frequently deaths of people with disabilities are inaccurately attributed to underlying disabilities rather than COVID infection. The overall lack of accurate, comprehensive data on impacts on people with disabilities clearly has had detrimental implications for vaccine allocation and other COVID response efforts and funding.

D. Absence of Needed Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

• PPE Not Provided

Too often people with disabilities and their service providers have not received PPE in circumstances where it is needed to protect such individuals’ safety. There has been a severely inadequate focus on the provision of necessary PPE, both for persons with disabilities and for direct support professionals who provide home and community-based services. This has been fueled by a lack of proper oversight, ignorance of the needs of people with disabilities, and administrative complications and foul-ups.

E. Inadequacies in COVID Testing Programs

• Lack of Priority for COVID Testing of People with Disabilities

In general, COVID-19 testing for people with disabilities and those who provide services to them has not been a priority. As a result, those groups have been under-tested, with the result that contact tracing regarding them has been impaired and often impossible, preventing them from knowing whether they have been exposed to COVID-19 and whether they risk severe illness, and/or infecting their families, friends, and care providers.

• Obstacles to Testing

Barriers have hampered or prevented COVID testing for people with disabilities. These have included architectural, communication, and transportation barriers at testing sites or difficulties in getting to such sites; inaccessible websites, information and scheduling services; documentation requirements (many people with disabilities, including people experiencing homelessness or who have lived in institutions may lack the necessary documents, such as a government-issued photo ID, which can be costly and time-consuming to obtain); and drive-in only testing sites, which can be a barrier or prohibitively expensive for those people with disabilities who do not drive.

F. Inequities, Confusion, and Frustration in Vaccine Allocation for People with Disabilities

• Unclear and Fluctuating Priority for Vaccination of People with Disabilities

As COVID-19 began its rampage around the globe, medical personnel, public health officials, and governmental entities faced an unknown and complex virus. Methods for dealing with it have evolved and changed rapidly as more information, data, and technology have become available. In the United States, the initial lack of centralized governmental policies and standards for treatment, vaccine distribution, and other elements of addressing the pandemic; coupled with the multiplicity of agencies responsible for overseeing, regulating, and implementing preventive and remedial measures; led to a hodgepodge of varying and vacillating policies and standards. Uncertainty and confusion have been widespread in regard to establishing priorities for COVID vaccinations, and particularly as to the prioritization accorded people with disabilities.

• Starting Point – Recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

The CDC has assumed responsibility for making recommendations on the priority in which various groups of people should receive the COVID-19 vaccine. On December 3, 2020, CDC announced that initial supplies of the vaccine should be offered to healthcare personnel and long-term care facility residents; it designated this as Phase 1a of the vaccine rollout. On December 22, 2020, CDC issued recommendations covering Phases 1b and 1c, as follows: Phase 1b included frontline essential workers and people aged 75 and older, while Phase 1c included people aged 65 to 74 years, people aged 16 to 74 with underlying medical conditions , and essential workers other than healthcare personnel (already included in 1b). [17]   CDC proposed and promoted the tiered concept of vaccine prioritization, but its views were merely “recommendations.” It fell to the states and other officials to issue more specific and more-or-less binding orders, policies, and regulations governing the actual implementation of COVID-19 prevention, treatment, and vaccine roll-out programs.

• Underlying Medical Conditions vs. Disabilities

To elaborate on what it meant by “underlying medical conditions” that it sometimes seemed to equate with “disabilities,” CDC referred to a list of “People with Certain Medical Conditions,” that it cautioned is “a living document” that is “not exhaustive and only includes conditions with sufficient evidence to draw conclusions,” and “may be updated at any time.” It was intended to cover adults who “are at risk for severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19.” [18]   CDC’s commentary on Certain Medical Conditions lists specific conditions in two categories; the first, of persons “at increased risk of severe illness” from the virus associated with cancer, chronic kidney disease, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), Down Syndrome, heart conditions, immunocompromised state from organ transplant, severe obesity, sickle cell disease, and Type 2 diabetes; the second, of people who “ might be at an increased risk for severe illness,” includes asthma (moderate-to-severe), cerebrovascular disease, cystic fibrosis, hypertension or high blood pressure, immunocompromised state from causes other than organ transplants, neurologic conditions such as dementia, liver disease, pulmonary fibrosis, thalassemia (a blood disorder), and Type 1 diabetes. [19]   Many of the conditions found on CDC’s two lists would qualify as “disabilities” in many contexts, but the lists are neither precise nor exhaustive, leaving a lot of open questions to be filled in by states and health officials charged with directing and implementing COVID-19 treatment and vaccine administration.

• Disabilities and Eligibility for Vaccine Priority

As state and local governments and medical providers began to roll out their distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, they identified categories of targeted recipients and began to specify the priority in which people in each category should receive shots. In doing so, they generally tried, at least initially, to follow the CDC recommendations regarding to the degree of priority for persons with disabilities. This was not easy or fool-proof, as the CDC Certain Medical Conditions lists were in large part prepared with a focus on treatment and illness prevention, and informing individuals with information about the risks they might face from COVID-19; did not seek to include rare conditions; and were, as CDC expressly stated, not attempting to be exhaustive. The lists were a relatively small sampling drawn from among a multitude of disabling conditions. For examples of some disabilities not included in CDC’s examples, see the text associated with endnote 23. To some extent, the CDC lists gave an impression of clarity that they did not fully deliver. And while CDC, most medical authorities, and state officials often gave lip-service to the notion that people with disabilities should be prioritized for COVID vaccination, as they are at high risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19, significant questions remained about what level of priority they should be given and to which people with disabilities priority should be extended . Because such lists are used to include some people and exclude others. it is critical that they be developed with substantial involvement, consultation, input, and oversight of the disability community.

• Misguided Quality of Life Judgments

Much of the disability bias and discrimination discussed previously is centered on faulty – usually negative – predictive assessments of the quality of life of individuals (patients) with disabilities. As NCD wrote in 1997:

In reality, such attitudes and negative predictions of life quality have little to do with the actual life experiences of people with disabilities. People with disabilities commonly report more satisfaction with their lives than others might have expected. Though they commonly encounter obstacles, prejudice, and discrimination, most people with disabilities manage to derive satisfaction and pleasure from their lives.

After conducting a nationwide poll of people with disabilities, Louis Harris and Associates reported that “[d]espite their disadvantaged status and frequent exclusion from activities enjoyed by most Americans, a large majority of disabled Americans are satisfied with their lives”; the Harris organization described this as “a remarkable finding in light of the portrait of hardships revealed in these survey findings.” Even individuals who identified themselves as having very severe disabilities tended to report that they were very or somewhat satisfied with their lives. [20]

The report of the coalition of disability rights and civil rights organizations, and academic authorities, on crisis standards of care and intersectional medical discrimination observed that “[n]on-disabled medical professionals frequently presume that disabled people have a lower quality of life, reflecting a lack of understanding about how people with significant disabilities can live fully, enjoy their lives as much as anyone else, achieve as much or more than others, and  where necessary develop alternative strategies to accomplish goals that others assume are off-limits to them.” [21]

And yet, a striking finding of the study on physicians’ perceptions of people with disabilities was that over 82 percent of participants reported that people with  significant disabilities have worse quality of life than people without disabilities. The authors noted that, not surprisingly, some patients with disabilities “express frustration about physicians’ lack of insight into the quality of their daily lives.” Elaborating on this situation, the authors commented:

More than twenty years ago, researchers investigated how perceptions of the quality of life of people with disabilities can diverge from societal assumptions. These inquiries identified a so-called disability paradox: that many people with significant disability equilibrate to living with functional limitations and enjoy good quality of life. Under the disability paradox, “the general public, physicians and other health care workers perceive that persons with disabilities have an unsatisfying quality of life despite the fact that over 50% of these people report an excellent or good quality of life.”

In the COVID-19 pandemic, however, states are too often making decisions about the level of priority to be assigned to people with disabilities for receiving  vaccinations (and treatment) based on uninformed underestimations of quality of life expectations for such individuals.

• Major Vaccine Prioritization Policies and Practices Reflect Discrimination

A number of disagreements and disputes have arisen in regard to prioritization of persons with disabilities for COVID inoculation. Three significant area of concern have been: states that have not made disability a priority category; the failure of eligibility lists to include all those conditions putting people at high risk of infection by the virus; and inoculation information and appointments websites and vaccination sites that are not accessible and disability user-friendly. [22]   Disability advocates pushed for expansion of the conditions on the priority lists (to add a variety of other conditions, including muscular dystrophy, progressive lung disease and respiratory failure, multiple sclerosis, quadriplegia, and cerebral palsy, to name but a few), as well as for higher priority of people with disabilities in general. [23]   Controversy arose about the fact that people who were not residing in long-term care facilities were not prioritized for vaccination even if they have very severe conditions, while people with identical or less severe conditions were near the front of the line for their shots if they lived in a long-term care facility. Residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities and older adults were prioritized, as is appropriate. But others living in the community were not similarly afforded priority for vaccination even though they are often at higher risk for contracting the virus and have conditions that increase their likelihood of severe disease or death, in part because many receive daily, in-person services and supports that cannot be provided from a distance (coupled with the lack of adequate PPE). Despite objections from the National Council on Disability, nine states have expressly excluded those living at home or in congregate settings other than nursing homes and assisted living facilities (e.g., group homes and psychiatric facilities) from prioritization for the vaccine. [24]   Further, sometimes people with disabilities have a condition that makes them eligible for priority vaccination, but no priority was given to direct support professionals who provide home and community-based services for them. Conversely, in other circumstances, some people with disabilities have not been able to obtain inoculation even though their personal and medical care support personnel have been able to.

• Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD (or I/DD))

Although CDC has posted some information about developmental disabilities, including intellectual disability, to date it has not included these conditions on its list of People with Certain Medical Conditions that are to be entitled to Phase 1c vaccine priority. This has led to consternation and inconsistency as states have developed their vaccine allocation plans and schedules, complicated by the breadth and inclusivity of the terms “developmental disabilities” and “intellectual disability,” each of which occurs across a spectrum. Studies showing that people with IDD who contract coronavirus die at sharply higher rates than others have led to calls for those conditions to be designated for early inoculation. [25]

On December 15, 2020, the National Council on Disability (NCD) called for “vaccine allocation equity for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD),” and recommended: “IDD should be included in the list of high-risk diagnoses used to determine vaccine priority…. [I]ndividuals with IDD face alarmingly higher complication and mortality rates from COVID-19, with mortality rates up to 15 percent…. [P]rioritizing individuals with IDD should be made explicit throughout all relevant guidance and state executive orders.” NCD added that “those who live with or provide care to people with IDD should be included in the same phase of vaccine allocation.” [26]   As of this writing, NCD’s protests have yet to persuade many states to address this problem. [27]

• Demotion by Age-Based Approach and Recent Advances

CDC’s placement of adults with underlying medical conditions in the first phase of its recommended vaccine priority recommendations was a positive recognition of the fact that people with disabilities are at greatly increased risk of contracting the COVID-19 virus and of being severely harmed or killed by it. Most states initially followed CDC’s lead on this matter. In more recent times, however, some states decided that, in the name of getting the vaccines out to more people more quickly, they would reorder the priority list to begin immunizing people based on age – effectively de-prioritizing people with disabilities. Previously, people aged 65 or over already took priority under CDC’s recommendations and were included in Phases 1b (75 plus) or 1c (65 to 74). But under some revised state protocols, people less than 65 years of age who met the state’s lower age-floor, whether they have disabilities or not, can “jump the queue” and get inoculated. On February 9, 2021, the National Council on Disability reported:

29 states – Alabama, Alaska, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia – and Washington, DC, have all de-prioritized persons with disabilities that fall into that category [having underlying conditions and comorbidities that put them at increased risk from COVID]. [28]

A well-publicized example occurred on January 25, 2021, when Governor Newsom of California announced that the state was switching to an “age-based approach,” meaning that after vaccinating those 65 and over and some essential workers, the state would distribute vaccines based on age rather than high-risk health status, or other criteria such as overcrowded living conditions. [29] This meant that, after completing Phase 1b, California would move to immunize people in the order of their ages, and not on the other factors previously considered, including disability. This approach would basically jettison any priority because of a person’s disability no matter how severe or debilitating.

After considerable outcry from people with disabilities, California officials announced that adults with “certain medical conditions” (disabilities?) that put them at increased risk would be eligible for inoculation, along with people aged 65 or over. Recently, on March 15, 2021, California expanded COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to persons aged 16 to 64 having any of ten conditions from the CDC list of medical conditions that put people at “increased risk of severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19”; people can also get vaccinated in California in the following circumstances:

• COVID-19 infection is likely to result in severe, life-threatening illness or death;
• Getting COVID-19 will limit the person’s ability to receive ongoing care or services vital to well-being and survival; or
• Providing adequate and timely COVID-19 care will be particularly challenging as a result of the disability.

People are permitted to self-attest that they have a listed disability or other serious condition, and do not have to provide documentation. [30] These changes were estimated to expand eligibility to some 4.4 million additional people, though early reports were that implementation was spotty. [31]

Pushback from people with disabilities and their supporters has helped to ameliorate and fine-tune age-based policies in some other states to some degree. While it is in everyone’s best interest to vaccinate as many Americans as soon as possible, it should not be done through measures that disadvantage and risk the health and lives of people with disabilities by moving them lower on the vaccine eligibility list.

• Current Place of People with Disabilities in the COVID Waiting Line

Important information about the status of people with disabilities in the quest for COVID-19 inoculation emerged in the first week of March 2021. On March 1, the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), which provides information on health policy matters, issued a substantial and informative “issue brief” report on “COVID-19 Vaccine Access for People with Disabilities.” [32]   After noting that people in nursing homes accounted for a disproportionate share of deaths attributed to COVID-19, the authors contrasted that with the scant data available regarding people with disabilities in other settings:

[L]ess attention has been paid to nonelderly people with disabilities who use long-term services and supports (LTSS) but live outside of nursing homes. This population includes people with a range of disabilities, such as people with autism or Down’s syndrome who live in group homes, people with physical disabilities who receive personal care services at home, and people who are receiving behavioral health treatment in residential facilities. Some nonelderly people with disabilities receive LTSS in a variety of community-based settings such as group homes, adult day health programs, and/or their own homes. Other nonelderly people with disabilities receive LTSS in institutional settings such as intermediate care facilities for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities (ICF/IDD) or behavioral health treatment centers for people with mental illness or substance use disorder. Many nonelderly people with disabilities, both in the community and in institutions, rely on Medicaid as the primary payer for the LTSS on which they depend for meeting daily self-care needs.

The document continued:

Nonelderly people with disabilities and the direct care workers who provide their LTSS have similar risk factors for serious illness or death from COVID-19  compared to their counterparts in nursing homes, due to the close contact required to provide assistance with daily personal care tasks, such as eating, dressing, and bathing; the congregate nature of many of these settings; and the highly transmissible nature of the coronavirus. Seniors in nursing homes are explicitly  included in the top priority group in all states’ COVID-19 vaccine distribution plans, but nonelderly people with disabilities who use LTSS may be not prioritized.

A significant finding in the issue brief addressed the absence of adequate data regarding the impact of COVID-19 on persons with disabilities: “ The wide  variety in state reporting makes it difficult to compare between states or have a complete understanding of how people with disabilities have been impacted by the pandemic.” The data available from the limited number of states reporting them indicated that people who receive long-term services and supports in settings other than nursing homes and assisted living facilities have an elevated risk of COVID-19 infection ranging from 19% to 50% – on a par with rates of infection for residents of nursing homes, and well above the 8% overall rate of COVID infection among the U.S. population as a whole. Though less than comprehensive, the available data support research suggesting that congregate settings, particularly larger facilities, are at high risk for COVID outbreaks.

Noting that “people with disabilities rely on the close physical proximity of caregivers for communication and daily needs, which limits their ability to adopt preventive measures such as social distancing,” the Kaiser issue brief cited several studies documenting that people with various types of disabilities had highly elevated rates of COVID infection and fatalities from it. Moreover, the authors found that direct care workers who provide long-term services and supports outside of nursing homes face increased risks from COVID-19, similar to their nursing home counterparts. And yet, “[f]ew state vaccination plans explicitly mention direct care workers who provide LTSS in settings other than nursing homes.”

As to COVID-19 vaccination for persons with disabilities themselves, the Kaiser document presented a disturbing recognition that “[f]ew state vaccination plans explicitly mention people with disabilities.” It elaborated that “[a] few states do specifically prioritize people with disabilities in their vaccinations plans,” and mentioned eight states that provide some form of priority from among a hodgepodge of disability priority categories.

At the end of the Kaiser Family Foundation policy brief, the authors identified three “other policy issues [that] will affect access to vaccines for people with disabilities”:

• People with disabilities who receive services in the community or in non-nursing facility institutions may face accessibility barriers at vaccine distribution sites.
• People with disabilities and their direct care providers may benefit from focused messaging as part of general vaccine outreach and public education efforts.
• [P]olicymakers may want to consider people with disabilities in data collection efforts to help inform and refine current vaccine distribution and access efforts and identify disparities such as those based on race or ethnicity.

G. Devalued Vaccination Status of Children and Adolescents

• Children and Adolescents Generally

CDC recommendations and most states’ COVID vaccination schedules put a very low priority on the vaccination of young people. CDC recommendations basically gave no priority at all except to those at least 18 years old (or in a few circumstances, 16), even those with underlying medical conditions, though some states have applied their own variations. The primary rationales for this limitation are: (1) that children have not been included in studies of effectiveness and safety of COVID vaccination, so they must wait until such testing has been done; and (2) that, in any case, children and adolescents are unlikely to contract COVID-19, and, if they do, are very unlikely to have severe or fatal cases. The idea that children are at little risk from COVID-19 is actually the basis for both rationales, since the decision not to include children in vaccination testing was a policy decision largely fueled by an a priori assumption that there was no urgency in determining the safety and effectiveness of inoculating children, thus inevitably delaying the possibility of earlier administration of vaccines to them. Moreover, the assumption that risk to children is small or negligible was left untested and unverified because relatively little attention was devoted to testing and compiling data regarding the impact of the pandemic on children.

Actually, considerable scientific evidence indicates that these rationales for low priority of children and adolescents for COVID vaccination are not as straightforward and sound as they are popularly considered to be. Information about COVID infections of children provided by CDC at the end of 2020, and in an article by a panel of medical experts published in JAMA Pediatrics provide pertinent insights. In regard to children aged 1 month to 18 years, CDC presented the following information:

While “fewer cases of COVID-19 have been reported in children (age 0-17) compared with adults,” … “some cases of COVID-19 in the United States reported to CDC were among children. The number and rate of cases in children in the United States have been steadily increasing. The true incidence of [COVID-19] infection in children is not known due to lack of widespread testing and the prioritization of testing for adults andthose with severe illness.”

As to infections and transmission among children, “Recent evidence suggests that compared to adults, children likely have similar viral loads in their nasopharynx [upper part of the throat behind the nose, part of the respiratory system], similar secondary infections rates, and can spread the virus to others.”

In regard to Severity of Illness in Children, “While children infected with [the virus] are less likely to develop severe illness compared with adults, children are still at risk of developing severe illness and complications from COVID-19. Weekly COVID-19 hospitalization surveillance data show that the rate of hospitalization among children is low compared with that of adults, but hospitalization rates among children are increasing. About 1 in 3 children hospitalized with COVID-19 in the United States were admitted to the intensive care unit, similar to the rate among adults.” “A recent systematic review estimated that only 16% of children with [COVID-19] are asymptomatic …” [33]

As to the consequences of COVID-19 infection when contracted by children, CDC declared: “Similar to adults, children with severe COVID-19 may develop respiratory failure, myocarditis, shock, acute renal failure, coagulopathy, and multi-organ system failure. Some children with COVID-19 have developed      other serious problems like intussusception or diabetic ketoacidosis. Children infected with [COVID-19] are also at risk for developing Multisystem  Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C).” MIS-C is a serious syndrome characterized by high fever, rash, hypotension, gastrointestinal symptoms, and organ dysfunction. Many of its symptoms strongly resemble a very serious condition known as “Kawasaki disease.” According to a study published in Lancet in December 2020, of eight children between the age of 4 and 14 years diagnosed with COVID-19-related MISC-C, three needed mechanical ventilation, and one died. [34]

The September 25, 2020, JAMA Pediatrics article reported the results of a “systematic review and meta-analysis” of studies bearing on the issue of susceptibility of children and adolescents to COVID-19 compared to adults. [35]   The authors found that “[p]reliminary evidence suggests that children have a lower susceptibility to [COVID-19] infection compared with adults,” but with some significant provisos: “The degree to which children and adolescents are infected by and transmit [the COVID-19 virus] remains unclear,” “the role that children and adolescents play in transmission of this virus remains unclear,” and “[d]ata were insufficient to conclude whether transmission of [COVID-19] is lower than by adults.” One disquieting finding from the data review and analysis was that “children and adolescents younger than 20 years had 44% lower odds of secondary infection with [COVID-19] compared with adults 20 years and older.” Thus, children and adolescents have a 44% risk – not far from half – of the risk faced by those 20 years old and above.

Another article in JAMA Pediatrics , this one published on January 11, 2021, focused on state-reported rates of hospitalizations of children for COVID-19 over  a six-month period. During the study period, the rate of pediatric hospitalizations for coronavirus grew dramatically, from 2 per 100,000 of all COVID hospitalizations to 17.2 by the end of the study. [36]   The authors of the study concluded: “Our results present concerning trends in pediatric hospitalizations.  Adult, and especially geriatric, incidence of COVID-19 continues to dominate the national picture, but pediatric populations may require resources that are not readily available across the country.” One of the study authors observed that before the study “[u]nfortunately, the message of ‘lower risk’ in children was  interpreted as ‘no risk’ by many … [and] testing among children has not been wide-scale and consistent to get a good understanding of prevalence of cases and infection rates among children … Our study shows that children can get sick and hospitalized.” [37]

Illuminating data regarding the impact of COVID on children have been collected by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children’s Hospital Association from data available from the individual states through their websites and other publicly available reports. In its Summary of Findings updated as of March 5, 2021, AAP found that nearly 3.17 million (3,168,274) children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic, representing 13.1% of all cases in the U.S. [38]   Children were found to comprise 1.3% to 3% of reported COVID hospitalizations. And the numbers are increasing: during the two weeks between February 11 to February 25, 2021, there was a 4% increase in the cumulated number of child COVID-19 cases. In the 11 states that reported on their COVID-19 testing, children tested positive 5% to 30% of the time.

Based upon the data, AAP advocated vigorously for prioritizing the vaccination of children. On February 25, 2021, it sent a formal letter to key COVID-19 officials in the federal government urging the Biden Administration to “use every measure available to achieve authorization of COVID-19 vaccines in children as soon as can be done safely.” [39] Stressing the over 3.1 million cases of children infected with the virus during the pandemic, AAP added that the  numbers were rising, with an increase of over two percentage points since November,” and stressed that “[a]mong children who have acquired COVID-19, 247 have died from the virus ….” In light of such statistics, AAP declared:

There is an urgent need for manufacturers to include children in COVID-19 vaccine trials so that our nation’s youngest citizens can benefit from the vaccine as adults have. The same focus and effort from the administration and manufacturers that was expended to enroll adults in COVID-19 vaccine trials must be replicated to enroll adolescents and younger children as soon as possible. Recent predictions from the administration that data for children under age 12 may not be available until early 2022 highlights the need to redouble our efforts to enroll younger children in COVID-19 clinical trials.

AAP issued a news release announcing its letter to Administration officials, with the subheading “AAP writes to White House leaders: Take urgent action so children are not left out of COVID-19 vaccination.” In the release, AAP President, Dr. Lee Savio Beers, commented that “we are not moving fast enough to ensure our children can benefit from these life-saving vaccines,” adding, “This is hard to fathom given how children have suffered throughout the pandemic in ways both seen and unseen. We cannot allow children to be an afterthought when they have shared so much burden throughout this pandemic.” AAP concluded: “We need to apply the same urgency to vaccinate children as we have for adults.”

The current state of CDC recommendations regarding COVID-19 vaccination of people under 20 years of age, as of this writing, is as follows:

CDC has approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine for adolescents 16 years or older, approved the Moderna vaccine for use in persons 18 years or older, and approved the Janssen/Johnson & Johnson vaccine for use for persons more than 18 years of age. [40]

The results of a recent CDC study of COVID-19 infection rates among children clarify that children are being infected at rates much higher than was previously believed, underscoring the need to make vaccines available to children below the current limits of 16 or 18 years, and that COVID cases involving children are being substantially underreported. [41]   The researchers examined blood samples of children in Mississippi between the ages of two months and less than 18 years to identify the presence of COVID antibodies, and compared that with the numbers of reported cases of coronavirus among children younger than 18. They found that, while population-weighted extrapolation of the antibody specimens produced an estimate that over 113,000 children were infected, only about 9,000 COVID-19 cases had been reported during the period covered by the study – a huge disparity! The lead author of the CDC-supported report said that “[w]hile we see that younger children more commonly have milder disease with COVID-19, it turns out that there are lot more kids infected with [the virus] than case numbers indicate. … This study clearly shows that kids can be infected with the virus.” [42]

In fact, it appears, based upon the data from the study, that infection rates of  “persons aged less than 18 were similar to those among persons aged 18-49 years, the age group with the highest seroprevalence during the period.”

• Children and Adolescents with Disabilities

If children in general have been largely an “afterthought,” in prioritizing COVID-19 vaccination, children and adolescents with disabilities have often been a tiny footnote or disregarded entirely. Basically, until very recently, CDC has not called for prioritization of people with underlying medical conditions unless they are at least 16 years old, and many states have followed CDC’s lead. The result is that in most jurisdictions, children with disabilities have not been on the early list for vaccination no matter how severe their conditions are and how vulnerable they are to severe and even fatal COVID infection. Thus, while there has been some recognition that children with disabilities have been and are at increased risk of contracting COVID-19 and being seriously or even fatally affected by it, that fact has not translated to any precedence in obtaining COVID research or vaccine shots. Quite a few disabilities are more prevalent and more injurious in children and adolescents than in adults, and there is no reason to think, or scientific evidence to support, the idea that underlying medical conditions are always less compromising to children and adolescents than to adults. In short, a blanket adults-only standard for COVID vaccination is unwarranted and highly unfair to children and adolescents with disabilities.

III.    Recent Developments and Current Status

A. progress in dealing with the covid-19 pandemic.

As of the one-year anniversary, on March 11, 2021, of the official declaration that COVID-19 was a pandemic, there were signs that we may be beginning to see some rays of light at the end of the tunnel. At the moment, cases and death rates from the virus in the U.S. have begun, at least temporarily, to level out and even decrease some. Vaccinations are increasing rapidly, especially in this country, where, as of this writing, people are being vaccinated at the rate of 2.4 million per day. 41 million people (12.3%) in the U.S. are fully vaccinated, and 116 million vaccination doses have been administered. Dr. Fauci, among other medical authorities, has said that it’s now safe for vaccinated grandparents to visit their grandchildren, and to hug them, indoors without masks and social distancing.

Largely due to pressure from disability advocates and disability organizations, shortcomings of COVID-19 policies and actions regarding people with disabilities are belatedly garnering a modicum of attention and concern. CDC and some states have finally begun to recognize that people with disabilities should be given higher priority for COVID inoculation. On March 3, 2021, the Washington Post reported that CDC was now recommending that states should consider prioritizing people with disabilities. [43] The article said that in allotting vaccine appointments, ‘[t]he latest CDC guidance urges states to consider the ‘unique needs’ of people with disabilities or cognitive decline and their caretakers ….” Advocates for people with disabilities said the updated guidance is “a step in the right direction but does not go far enough.” “It doesn’t resolve the overall uncertainty and lack of clarity for people with disabilities and their families,” said Peter V. Berns, chief executive officer for the Arc of the United States, which advocates for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

In the same March 3, 2021, issue of the Washington Post containing the story about CDC guidance advising prioritization of people with disabilities, there was an article describing the Biden Administration’s pursuance of a “stepped-up” vaccination process in the hope of getting “every adult in America” vaccinated by the end of May (a goal the Administration subsequently moved ahead to May 1).

Change in the COVID-pandemic landscape is in the air, and things are happening rapidly. On March 11, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 into law. To speed up the country’s recovery from the economic and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing recession, the new law, also referred to as the COVID-19 Stimulus Package, dedicates $1.9 trillion to support individuals, businesses, and states affected by COVID-19. Among a long list of funding programs in the Act, it provides billions of dollars for helping elementary and secondary school students return to the classroom; funding for COVID-19 vaccine distribution and administration, COVID-19 testing, contact tracing, and genome sequencing; one-year funding for Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS); [44] and temporary increases of subsidies for people purchasing health insurance through the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace.

On the same day that he signed the American Rescue Plan Act, President Biden made a prime- time speech to the American people, in which he said he would direct states to make all Americans 18 and over eligible to get vaccinated by May 1, predicted a possible return to some semblance of normalcy for vaccinated people by the Fourth of July, and announced several measures aimed at speeding up vaccinations across the country.

B. Ongoing Flaws and Problems for People with Disabilities in COVID-19 Pandemic Efforts

Despite important progress and significant advances as the battle against the coronavirus continues, the situation is hardly a rosy one for people with disabilities. Most of the serious problems discussed previously in this essay are continuing; many of them have not even been acknowledged, much less remedied. Disability advocates are continuing to battle for safe and equitable treatment in numerous contexts.

One disquieting note for people with disabilities and many other Americans was chronicled in another article in the Washington Post on March 3, 2021, which reported that some states, led by Texas and Mississippi, shortly thereafter followed by Arkansas, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Virginia and several others, were abandoning some or all of their coronavirus restrictions. [45]   These changes, which permit those states’ residents to stop wearing masks; dine at restaurants without capacity limits; and go to bars, and sports and entertainment venues, and other gatherings that had previously been closed or restricted, raise serious concerns. The Post reported that “[t]he rush to reopen has alarmed federal health officials who believe it could threaten important progress in fighting the virus at a fragile time and open the door to another surge this spring.” There is some evidence that such surges in COVID-19 infection have already begun in some states that relaxed their restrictions.

Also problematic and disappointing is President Biden’s focus on “every adult in America” for vaccination – what about the children and particularly children with disabilities? And children in other categories that render them at greater risk from coronavirus?

The tenor of the current good news/bad news phase of the COVID-19 era is perhaps captured by several recent news events in the state of Maryland. On March 2, 2021, Governor Larry Hogan announced that, in the interest of speeding up COVID-19 inoculations, Maryland was opening up three new mass vaccination sites, and that he was threatening to take unused vaccine doses away from local health departments that did not administer all their coronavirus doses within one week and give them to other vaccine administerers. [46]   These actions were in keeping with the strong push for maximizing vaccinations as soon as possible led by the Biden Administration and gaining traction in many parts of the country. A week later, on March 9, 2021, Governor Hogan announced that he was easing many coronavirus restrictions in the state, including lifting capacity limits at restaurants and opening large indoor and outdoor venues to 50% capacity – declaring prior rules null and void – while keeping in effect the state’s mask mandate. The announcement reportedly caught local officials and public health authorities unawares, leaving many Maryland jurisdictions scrambling to consult with their attorneys to assess the impact of the Governor’s edict on their local public health rules. One public health professor’s initial reaction to the unexpected announcement was, “Wow!”; she added that “[t]here is going to be risk in reopening so quickly, especially when the vast majority of Marylanders [90%] are still unvaccinated.” [47]

On the same day as Governor Hogan’s announcement of Maryland’s COVID reopening, The Arc of the United States issued a news release declaring that on the day before (March 8), The Arc of Maryland filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, alleging that Baltimore City and five Maryland counties were discriminating against people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) by denying them opportunities to access COVID-19 vaccinations, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. [48]   In the case, styled The Arc Maryland v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore Maryland , The Arc Maryland, represented by The Arc of the United States, Disability Rights Maryland, and a private law firm, alleged that “[p]eople with I/DD face heightened risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19,” and that mortality rates among people with I/DD are much higher than people without I/DD. The complaint further alleged that the defendant jurisdictions had omitted people with I/DD from their vaccine eligibility lists and from the jurisdictions’ website services associated with getting vaccinated – preregistration, registration, and telephone contact information. As a result, according to the complaint: “People with I/DD are not aware that they are eligible for the vaccine; are unable to schedule appointments, register, pre-register, or complete interest forms for Defendants’ vaccines; and are delayed or denied access to critical health care services.” [49]

The president of the board of The Arc Maryland declared that “[i]t is frustrating to have our state recognize people with IDD to be in the 1B priority group for the vaccine, only for people with IDD to be denied equitable access to the vaccine from the counties in which they live. We hope this action will result in immediate change for the benefit of all.” [50]   The litigation director of Disability Rights Maryland added:

We need these localities to take immediate corrective action to fix their information; to fix forms that exclude individuals with disabilities from claiming eligibility and seeking vaccine appointments; to tell health department staff and others that people with disabilities are eligible and to assist them with obtaining the vaccine. The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed over thirty years ago with a purpose of ending historic inequities in health care. We need immediate action to protect lives. [51]

C. Much More Needs to Be Done to Achieve Equal Access to Medical Equipment, Services, Facilities, Treatment, and Vaccinations

While some things in the battle against COVID-19 would seem to be looking up, we still have a long way to go. In most states, COVID-19 vaccinations have not been, and are not being, provided to anyone under age 18, and it was only on March 16 that the Moderna drug company announced it was going to begin testing the use of its vaccine in children under 18, including infants under six months; another study of children ages 12 to 17 is already underway, with results that might be available beginning this summer (after which, if successful, the vaccine would still have to await official authorization before it could be administered) to those less than 18 years old. [52] Alarmingly, the Moderna announcement specified that the testing would only be done on “healthy children,” presumably meaning that it would not be able to provide data about the safety of vaccinating children with disabilities.

And even the notion that it’s okay for vaccinated grandparents to cuddle unvaccinated grandchildren is far from as clear as it seems. A March 18, 2021,  article in the Washington Post , “A Visit to Grandma’s? Not Quite Yet: With Variants Circulating and Guidance Limited, Fear Persists after Shots,” [53] sounded a cautionary note: “It is still unclear whether vaccinated people can transmit the coronavirus, and new guidelines released … from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not clearly delineate what is and is not safe for them to do.” As one 80-year-old grandmother observed, the new guidelines “make me more confused than not. It seemed to say one thing in one place, and then you read down further, it negated what you had read.” The article added:

After the pandemic began, many Americans, especially the oldest and most vulnerable, clung to the belief that a vaccine would return them to pre-coronavirus life. But after a year of surges, variants and conflicting or revised opinions from medical authorities, many are questioning – and arguing with their loved ones about – whether the vaccine will be their golden ticket back to the wider world.

Many people who had the requisite vaccine shots are still very leery of unmasked, indoor visits with unvaccinated people. The article elaborated: “[T]he promise of the current vaccines has been clouded by the rise of new variants that may elude them. And with four-fifths of Americans yet to get a first shot, vaccinated people have a hard time knowing how to protect themselves and their family members.”

The CDC guidance restricted permission to meet with (and hug) only those unvaccinated people who are at low risk of severe COVID. The implications of this limitation for meeting with people, especially children with disabilities, given that the CDC has been very hazy as to which disabilities entail high risk of severe COVID infection and that the states have been all over the board about the link between severe COVID susceptibility and disabilities, leaves people in the dark about what is safe. Is it or is it not acceptable to get together indoors without masks and hug, and perhaps smooch, your grandchildren who have asthma, quadriplegia, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, or some other disabling condition? Should grandparents and other relatives not living in the same household feel entitled to close visits with their relations, including young children who have disabilities that might render them highly susceptible to harsh consequences of COVID? Given that very, very few children have been vaccinated for COVID-19 (nor has testing been done to determine the safety of  the vaccines for them), and that we do not yet know for sure if vaccinated people can pass the virus to others, isn’t there good reason to be wary of encouraging close contact without the safeguards and masks we have otherwise been requiring? Is the go-ahead-and-hug-now approach justified by scientific data or merely by nostalgic, wishful-thinking that children aren’t really at risk from the virus, and vaccinated people aren’t really very likely to spread the disease – neither of which is validated by presently available scientific evidence? Why endanger our loved ones with disabilities at this point before we have given them priority for vaccine protection? If such questions are answerable at the present time, they have not yet been answered with clarity and consistency by medical authorities or anyone else.

And who gets left holding the bag in the meantime? People with disabilities and their families.

Disability and legal rights advocates have made some important progress since the beginning of the pandemic, but the fact that these fights have been necessary on issue after issue, and in state after state, and that many of them still need to be fought, demonstrates that we’re still far from “elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities,” the stated purpose of the ADA . More data, research, and progress is needed in almost every aspect and phase of defeating the COVID-19 virus in a manner that achieves safety, fairness, and equity toward people with disabilities.

This essay has identified a number of ways in which measures to address the COVID-19 pandemic have shafted persons with disabilities, and analyzed how and why people with disabilities were shortchanged. As all Americans and all agencies of government and the private sector do their parts to end the pandemic and get the country back on its feet, they need to do so in a way that ensures equal justice and avoids discrimination against people with disabilities. Doing so will involve two interrelated components: (1) Recognizing and putting into action certain fundamental principles about fair and humane treatment of people with disabilities; and (2) Operationalizing policies and measures addressing the COVID-19 crisis to reflect the needs and respect the human and legal rights of people with disabilities.

A. Fundamental Guiding Principles

• People with disabilities’ lives are of equal value as other peoples’ lives, and they should be treated as full and equal members of society, with equally valuable rights, dreams, and freedoms.
• It is essential that people with disabilities be part of the planning, development, and implementation of policies, programs, and rules affecting them. As people with disabilities often insist, “Nothing about us without us.”
• People should never be warehoused on the basis of disability. Now more than ever, we can see that it is not only discriminatory and unfair, it’s dangerous. As the Supreme Court has declared, People with Disabilities Receiving Services in Residential Facilities Must Be Served in the Most Integrated Setting Appropriate to the Needs of the Individual.
• To the maximum extent possible, individuals with disabilities shall be allowed to live independently: to exercise freedom of choice; to live where and how they choose; to live within the community in the neighborhood they choose; and to decide their own pattern of life.
• Health care should be available to all. It is essential for people with disabilities.
• Policies, programs, and rules affecting people with disabilities must be based on evidence and verifiable data, not on misperceptions, biases, or uninformed assumptions about disability.
• Prohibitions of discrimination against people with disabilities in the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act are fully applicable to public accommodations and state and local government entities, which include, along with a wide range of other businesses and services, medical care providers, public health agencies, and pharmacies and other prescription drug vendors. And these prohibitions are legally enforceable.

B. Rectifying COVID-19 Policy and Practice Shortcomings

• People with disabilities, both adults and children, are at increased risk from COVID-19 infection. Because of their higher medical vulnerability, they need to be accorded more attention, and priority in all facets of addressing the COVID pandemic.
• The existence of pervasive, detrimental bias and discrimination on the basis of disability in medical care has been and is an indisputable reality that makes people with disabilities more at risk from COVID infection. Preventing people with disabilities from having a fair and equal chance of obtaining protective measures and equipment, medical treatments, timely COVID-19 vaccination, and other benefits and services for avoiding infection; and not treating the disease effectively, thereby lessening its short and long-term health consequences, put people with disabilities at unnecessary risk.
• It is essential that decisions about treatment and vaccine allocation must be made fairly, based on individualized determinations using current objective medical evidence, and not based on generalized inaccurate assumptions about a person’s disability, or metrics that are unfairly weighted against people with disabilities.
• To improve medical misperceptions of people with disabilities and their lives, physicians and other medical personnel need more training and information about disability and first-hand experience with people with disabilities; medical and nursing schools, and related educational institutions and programs should include disability topics and familiarization as substantial parts of their curricula. Moreover, they should make earnest and sustained efforts to recruit students with disabilities and to hire people with disabilities in medical care positions. The article “Physicians’ Perceptions of People with Disability and their Health Care” included a finding that “[a]ll levels of medical education should include more training about disability, including disability cultural competence and etiquette. Training that provides greater empathy about patients’ daily lives, such as house calls or standardized patients who have disability, might offer important insights.” [54]
• The lists of “People with Certain Medical Conditions,” that were developed by CDC and applied by the states, and ultimately became a category of people given some priority for COVID-19, were incomplete, confusing, and unfair to people with various disabling conditions. Health authorities should refine and expand the lists of medical conditions that make people more susceptible to, and more at risk of severe harm or death from, the coronavirus, making them more inclusive, clear, and disability-informed.
• Determining eligibility and priority of people with disabilities for vaccination, treatment, and testing should not be made in a restrictive, technical manner. Some states are now taking people’s assertions of disability at face value, without demanding burdensome, or any, documentation. Giving people claiming to have disabilities the benefit of the doubt in lieu of unwieldy scrutiny would not seriously interfere with our nation’s goal of getting everybody inoculated as soon as possible.
• More awareness of and sensitivity to disability. and a bit of creativity, could have enabled health authorities to devise more manageable ways to identify and confirm individuals’ disabilities. The issue of establishing disability involves some complexity, including sensitivity about self-identification and “invisible disabilities,” but it might have been addressed more effectively with some relatively simple ideas, along with soliciting and following the advice and input of people with disabilities and disability organizations. Perhaps, for example, people could be allowed to establish their disabilities by producing a Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) number, an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), an Individualized Rehabilitation Plan under the federal Rehabilitation Act, documentation that they have Disabled Veterans status, or perhaps even a disability parking sticker. And the documents listed here are certainly not all-inclusive. Such approaches based on long-standing government-based designations should be considered as soon as possible.
• Very little testing and study of people with disabilities have been done to determine the prevalence, riskiness, and progression of COVID-19. Particularly lacking is solid scientific information regarding children with disabilities. Data from such research and tracking is sorely needed to ensure optimal protection for persons with disabilities, and should be made an urgent priority.
• Although standards are beginning to evolve rapidly, current COVID-19 vaccination eligibility in most jurisdictions, and under CDC recommendations, is limited to people aged 18 or over, or 16 in a few circumstances. Studies of the safety and effectiveness of inoculating younger children is only in the beginning stage. Lack of urgency for vaccinating adolescents, children, toddlers, and infants has been explained on facile assumptions of a lack of risk of infection and serious harm for younger people, not fully justified by available data. The blanket adults-only policies are unfair and perilous for the nation’s children, and particularly risky for children with disabilities. Vaccination of everyone under 18 needs to become a most urgent priority as soon as possible.
• Often unnoticed by many people without disabilities are barriers to equal participation by people with disabilities in accessing to COVID-19 medical treatment, vaccinations, and research, posed by inaccessible websites and facilities. People seeking to use online resources to obtain information, identify treatment and vaccination options, schedule appointments, etc., are stymied when COVID-19-related websites are not in compliance with accessibility standards, are not user-friendly, or are otherwise inaccessible to users with various disabilities. Likewise, people with disabilities trying to obtain treatment, vaccination shots, testing, or other services at a hospital, doctor’s office, clinic, other medical service facility, pharmacy, and the like, find that they cannot get into the facility or get served there because of architectural or communications barriers. Full and equal access must be a baseline prerequisite for all COVID-19 services and programs.
• The necessity for some people to have direct support assistance has not been adequately recognized and accommodated in relation to COVID-19 treatment and vaccination requirements. Some people with disabilities have a condition that makes them eligible for priority vaccination, but no priority was given to direct support personnel who provide home and community-based services for them. Conversely, in other circumstances, some people with disabilities have not been able to obtain inoculation even though their personal and medical care support personnel have been able to. Whether they reside in nursing homes, other kinds of congregate living facilities, or in the community, people should be permitted to have and be accommodated in having, their necessary personal and medical care support assistance, and their support personnel should be eligible for priority vaccination.
• Overall data collection regarding people with disabilities and their susceptibility to COVID-19 infection and its severe consequences, the safety and other consequences of their being inoculated, and of the medical and personal treatment they have received, has been paltry. And research studies in regard to children with disabilities and COVID treatment and vaccination have been few. Given the complexities of and serious consequences at stake with COVID infection in people with disabilities, it is of the utmost importance to have more and better research and collection of other types of data on the interplay between the coronavirus and children and adolescents with disabilities.
• Consultation and involvement of people with disabilities in the development of crisis care standards, vaccine prioritization, and other policies, programs, and guidance dealing with the COVID-19 crisis has been very much “too little, too late.” For people with disabilities, it is absolutely necessary and should be standard operating procedure and an expected facet of all policies, programs, and transactions for addressing the pandemic, that there should be “Nothing about us without us.” Accordingly, people with disabilities must be part of the planning, development, and implementation of all prevention, treatment, immunization, and support policies, protocols, and delivery systems for addressing the virus and its consequences.

C. Conclusion

As people with disabilities are very aware, they have had a hard way to go during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through no fault of their own, on average they have faced more risk than people without disabilities of contracting COVID-19, and, if they do, of having severe symptoms, of being hospitalized, of having to be put on a ventilator, and of dying from the disease. In addition to dangers from the virus itself, and the disruptions to normal life it has entailed, many people with disabilities have been subjected to egregious forms of discrimination, described in this essay, that have heightened the hardships and risks they face. Rectification of these injustices is overdue and essential. In the apt words of the Lauren Young, litigation director of Disability Rights Maryland: “ The Americans with Disabilities Act was passed over thirty years ago with a purpose of ending historic inequities in health care. We need immediate action to protect lives.” [55]

Many thanks to my trusty editor and wonderful life partner, Andi Farbman.

[1] National Council on Disability, “COVID-19 Letter to HHS Office for Civil Rights” (March 18, 2020), found at https://ncd.gov/publications/2020/ncd-covid-19-letter-hhs-ocr

[2] The passage is derived from Robert Burgdorf, The Legal Rights of Handicapped Persons,  (1980) p. 51. It has been widely quoted in whole or in part.

In first introducing the Americans with Disabilities Act in the Senate on April 28, 1988, Senator Lowell Weicker cited the quoted language on the first page of his introductory Floor Statement .

[3] DEMOCRACY NOW, February 9, 2021, Disabled Advocates Demand Better Vaccine Access as They Face Greater Risks of Dying from COVID-19, at https://www.democracynow.org/

[4] CDC, People with Certain Medical Conditions , updated Feb. 3, 2021, found at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html

[5] Tim Jin, “Op-Ed: Why is California’s age-based COVID-19 vaccine policy overlooking disabled people like me?” Los Angeles Times (Jan. 29, 2021), at https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-01-29/covid-vaccine-disabled-people-priority

[6] Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under Law, DREDF, The Arc, Center for Public Representation, Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Justice in Aging, CUNY School of Law, National Disability Rights Network, Natalie M. Chin, & Jasmine Harris, “Examining How Crisis Standards of Care May Lead to Intersectional Medical Discrimination Against COVID-19 Patients” (Feb. 2021), at http://www.bazelon.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/FINAL-Intersectional-Guide-Crisis-Care-PDF.pdf

[7] National Council on Disability, Assisted Suicide: A Disability Perspective (March 24, 1997), at  https://ncd.gov/

[8] Id., at https://ncd.gov/publications/ , quoting U.S. Comm’n on Civil Rights, Accommodating the Spectrum of Individual Abilities  26 (1983).

[9] Joseph Shapiro, “People with Disabilities Fear Pandemic Will Worsen Medical Biases” (Apr. 15, 2020) found at https://www.npr.org/

[10] Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under Law, DREDF, The Arc, Center for Public Representation, Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Justice in Aging, CUNY School of Law, National Disability Rights Network, Natalie M. Chin, & Jasmine Harris, “Examining How Crisis Standards of Care May Lead to Intersectional Medical Discrimination Against COVID-19 Patients” (Feb. 2021), p. 4, found at http://www.bazelon.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/FINAL-Intersectional-Guide-Crisis-Care-PDF.pdf

[11] Lisa I. Iezzoni, Sowmya R. Rao, Julie Ressalam, Dragana Bolcic-Jankovic, Nicole D. Agaronnik, Karen Donelan, Tara Lagu, and Eric G. Campbell, “Physicians’ Perceptions of People with Disability and their Health Care,” Health Affairs, vol. 40, no. 2 (Feb. 1, 2021), found at https://www.healthaffairs.org/

[12] Corky Siemaszco, “New York Gov. Cuomo Facing Calls to Apologize for Undercounting COVID-19 Nursing Home Deaths,” NBC News (Feb. 16, 2021), found at https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/new-york-gov-cuomo-facing-calls-apologize-undercounting-covid-19-n1258053

[13] Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under Law, DREDF, The Arc, Center for Public Representation, Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Justice in Aging, CUNY School of Law, National Disability Rights Network, Natalie M. Chin, & Jasmine Harris, “Examining How Crisis Standards of Care May Lead to Intersectional Medical Discrimination Against COVID-19 Patients” (Feb. 2021), at p. 6, found at http://www.bazelon.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/FINAL-Intersectional-Guide-Crisis-Care-PDF.pdf

[14] Laura Guidry‐Grimes, Katie Savin, Joseph A. Stramondo, et al., “Disability Rights as a Necessary Framework for Crisis Standards of Care and the Future of Health Care,” The Hastings Center Report (June 29, 2020), found at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/

[15] Lisa I. Iezzoni, Sowmya R. Rao, Julie Ressalam, Dragana Bolcic-Jankovic, Nicole D. Agaronnik, Karen Donelan, Tara Lagu, and Eric G. Campbell, “Physicians’ Perceptions of People with Disability and their Health Care,” Health Affairs, vol. 40, no. 2 (Feb. 1, 2021), found at https://www.healthaffairs.org/

[16] Corky Siemaszco, “New York Gov. Cuomo Facing Calls to Apologize for Undercounting COVID-19 Nursing Home Deaths,” NBC News (Feb. 16, 2021), found at https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/new-york-gov-cuomo-facing-calls-apologize-undercounting-covid-19-n1258053

[17] CDC, CDC’s COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout Recommendations , updated Feb. 19, 2021, found at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations.html (emphasis added).

[18] CDC, People with Certain Medical Conditions , updated Feb. 3, 2021, found at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html

[19] Id. The lists also include the activity of smoking and the condition of pregnancy that would not usually be considered to be disabilities in and of themselves.

[20] National Council on Disability, Assisted Suicide: A Disability Perspective (March 24, 1997), at https://ncd.gov/publications/1997/03241997#4b4

[21] Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under Law, DREDF, The Arc, Center for Public Representation, Autistic Self Advocacy Network, Justice in Aging, CUNY School of Law, National Disability Rights Network, Natalie M. Chin, & Jasmine Harris, “Examining How Crisis Standards of Care May Lead to Intersectional Medical Discrimination Against COVID-19 Patients” (Feb. 2021), at pp. 4-5, found at http://www.bazelon.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/FINAL-Intersectional-Guide-Crisis-Care-PDF.pdf

[22] Cecilia Nowell, “This Women-Made Tool Could Help to Get More Disabled People Vaccinated: States Aren’t Prioritizing the Disabled Community, Advocates Say,” The Lily (Feb. 25, 2021), found at https://www.thelily.com/this-women-made-tool-could-help-get-more-disabled-people-vaccinated/

[23] Liz Bowen, Whose Underlying Conditions Count for Priority in Getting Vaccine? Scientific American (February 6, 2021), at https://www.scientificamerican.com/ ; DEMOCRACY NOW, February 9, 2021, Disabled Advocates Demand Better Vaccine Access as They Face Greater Risks of Dying from COVID-19, at https://www.democracynow.org/

[24] National Council on Disability, NCD Letter to NGA re: Vaccine Allocation (Feb. 9, 2021) at https://ncd.gov/newsroom/2021/ncd-makes-recommendations-national-governors-association-covid-19-vaccination-equity

[25] Michael Diament, People with Developmental Disabilities at Highest Risk of Death from COVID-19, Study Indicates , Disability Scoop (November 16, 2020); Michael Diament, COVID-19 Vaccine Should Go to Those with Developmental Disabilities First, Advocates Say, Disability Scoop (December 7, 2020), at https://www.disabilityscoop.com/ ; Roni Caryn Rabin, Developmental Disabilities Heighten Risk of COVID Death . by Roni  Caryn Rabin . , The New York Times, November 11, 2020, at https://www.nytimes.com/ ; Scott Landes, Margaret Turk, Margaret Formica, Katherine McDonald, & J. Dalton Stevens, COVID-19 Outcomes among People with Intellectual and Developmental Disability Living in Residential Group Homes in New York State, Elsevier Public Health Emergency Collection (October 13, 2020), at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ ; Stetson Miller, Experts: Those with Intellectual, Developmental Disabilities 3 Times more Likely to Die from COVID-19 , Baltimore (WJZ), January 12, 2021, at https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/

[26] National Council on Disability, NCD Recommends COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation Equity for Individuals with I/DD (Dec. 15, 2020), found at https://ncd.gov/newsroom/2020/ncd-recommends-covid-19-vaccine-allocation-equity-individuals-idd

[27] American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR), The Implications of State COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Plans for People with Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities (December 2020) , at https://www.ancor.org/

[28] National Council on Disability, NCD Letter to NGA re: Vaccine Allocation (Feb. 9, 2021) at https://ncd.gov/newsroom/2021/ncd-makes-recommendations-national-governors-association-covid-19-vaccination-equity (emphasis added).

[29] Sonia Sharp, Californians with Disabilities Are Outraged over Vaccine De-Prioritization , Los Angeles Times (February 2, 2021), at https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-02-02/disabled-californians-outraged-vaccine-de-prioritization ; Elliot Kukla, Where’s the Vaccine for Ableism? , New York Times, Feb. 4, 2021, at https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/04/opinion/covid-vaccine-ableism.html ; Sammy Caiola, “As California Makes Age a Bigger Factor in When You Get Vaccinated, People with Disabilities Are Concerned,” CAPRADIO, (Jan. 28. 2021) at https://www.capradio.org/articles/2021/01/28/as-california-makes-age-a-bigger-factor-in-when-you-get-vaccinated-people-with-disabilities-are-concerned/

[30] Nouran Salahieh, Lauren Lyster, & Megan Telles, “Californians with Certain Health Conditions, Disabilities Can Now Sign Up for COVID-19 Vaccine, KTLA (Mar. 15, 2021), found at https://ktla.com/news/california/californians-with-certain-health-conditions-disabilities-can-now-sign-up-for-covid-19-vaccine/+

[31] Catherine Ho & Matthias Gafni, “Bay Area Counties Open Vaccines to All Adults with Disabilities and Health Conditions, But Access Is Spotty,” San Francisco Chronicle (March 15, 2021), found at https://www.sfchronicle.com/local/article/Bay-Area-counties-open-vaccines-to-all-adults-16027731.php

[32] MaryBeth Musumeci and Priya Chidambaram, “COVID-19 Vaccine Access for People with Disabilities, Kaiser Family Foundation (March 1, 2021), found at https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/covid-19-vaccine-access-for-people-with-disabilities/

[33] CDC, “Information for Pediatric Healthcare Providers” (updated Dec. 30, 2020), found at https://www.cdc.gov/

[34] Suriya Rehman, Tariq Majeed, Mohammad Azam Ansari, and Ebtesam A. Al-Suhaimi, “Syndrome Resembling Kawasaki Disease in COVID-19 Asymptomatic Children,” Journal of Infection and Public Health (Dec. 2020) Vol 13 no. 12, pp. 1830–1832, found at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ , citing Riphagen S., Gomez X., Gonzalez-Martinez C., Wilkinson N., Theocharis P. Hyperinflammatory shock in children during COVID-19 pandemic. Lancet (London, England)  2020, vol. 395(no. 10237): pp. 1607–1608, found at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

[35] Russell M. Viner, Oliver T. Mytton, Chris Bonell, et al, “Susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 Infection Among Children and Adolescents Compared with Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” JAMA Pediatrics (September 25, 2020), vol. 175, no. 2, 143-156, found at https://jamanetwork.com/

[36] Zachary Levin, Kimberly Choyke, Archelle Georgiou, et al., “Trends in Pediatric Hospitalizations for Coronavirus Disease 2019,” JAMA Pediatrics (published online January 11, 2021, found at https://jamanetwork.com/

[37] Ken Downey Jr., “Rate of Pediatric COVID-19 19 Hospitalizations Has Increased,” Healio (Jan. 11, 2021), (quoting Professor   Pinar Karaca-Mandic), found at https://www.healio.com/news/

[38] American Academy of Pediatrics, Children and COVID-19: State Level Data Report (updated Mar. 5, 2021) found at https://services.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/children-and-covid-19-state-level-data-report/

[39] American Academy of Pediatrics, Letter to Jeffrey Zients, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. David Kessler, and Dr. Janet Woodcock (Feb. 25, 2021), found at https://downloads.aap.org/

[40] See, AAP, COVID-19: Frequently Asked Questions About COVID-19 Vaccine (updated as of March 2, 2021), found at https://services.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/covid-19-vaccine-frequently-asked-questions/

[41] Charlotte V. Hobbs, Jan Drobeniuc, Theresa Kittle, et al.. “Estimated SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence Among Persons Aged <18 Years — Mississippi, May–September 2020,” CDC, MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2021;70:312–315 (Mar. 5, 2021), found at https://www.cdc.gov/

[42] Sam Cohen, “CDC Study: COVID-19 More Prevalent in Children Than Originally Thought,” News5 Cleveland (Mar. 4, 2021) found at https://www.news5cleveland.com/

[43] Lena H. Sun, “CDC: States Should Prioritize People with Disabilities to Receive Vaccine Access,” The Washington Post , March 3, 2021, at p. A6; online under the title “CDC: States should prioritize people with disabilities as they broaden vaccine access,” at https://www.washingtonpost.com/

[44] States can receive a 10% increase in their Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) for federal matching funds. States will be required to implement or expand one or more activities to enhance HCBS. This should result in a total of almost $12.7 billion of dedicated funding to strengthen and expand access to Medicaid HCBS.

[45] William Wan, Brittany Shammas, Ashley Parker, and Laura Meckler, “Biden Puts Accelerated Timeline on Shot Supply,” The Washington Post , March 3, 2021, at p. A1; continued on page A6 under the subtitle “Worries of Setback Grow as States Loosen Their Restrictions.”

[46] Lola Fadulu, Erin Cox, and Rebecca Tan, “Maryland to Prioritize Vaccines for Health Departments Quickly Administering Doses,” The Washington Post (Mar. 2, 2021), found at https://www.washingtonpost.com/

[47] Alex Mann and Bryn Stole, “Maryland COVID Reopening: State to Lift Limits at Restaurants, Stores; Large Venues to Allow 50% Capacity,” the Baltimore Sun (Mar. 9, 2021) (quoting Dr. Leana Wen of George Washington University), found at https://www.baltimoresun.com/coronavirus/bs-md-hogan-coronavirus-update-20210309-eqevuamwdba7dg34pzsy5trwea-story.html

[48] The Arc of the United States, “Vaccine Discrimination: Disability Advocates File Federal Lawsuit Alleging 6 Maryland Jurisdictions Discriminate in Vaccine Process” (March 9, 2021), found at https://thearc.org/vaccine-discrimination-disability-advocacy-groups-file-federal-lawsuit-alleging-6-maryland-jurisdictions-discriminate-in-vaccine-process/

[49] Complaint in The Arc Maryland v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore Maryland , case no. 1:22-cv-00593-CLR (filed Mar. 8, 2021) at pp. 3-4.

[50] The Arc of the United States, “Vaccine Discrimination: Disability Advocates File Federal Lawsuit Alleging 6 Maryland Jurisdictions Discriminate in Vaccine Process” (March 9, 2021) (quoting Ray Marshall) found at https://thearc.org/vaccine-discrimination-disability-advocacy-groups-file-federal-lawsuit-alleging-6-maryland-jurisdictions-discriminate-in-vaccine-process/

[51] Id., quoting Lauren Young.

[52] Denise Grady, “Moderna Begins Testing COVID Vaccine in Babies and Children,” New York Times (Mar. 16, 2021) found at https://www.nytimes.com/   2021/03/16/health/moderna-covid-vaccine-children.html

[53] Tara Bahrampour & Samantha Schmidt, “A Visit to Grandma’s? Not Quite Yet: With Variants Circulating and Guidance Limited, Fear Persists after Shots,” Washington Post , p. B1 (Mar. 18, 2021).

[54] Lisa I. Iezzoni, Sowmya R. Rao, Julie Ressalam, Dragana Bolcic-Jankovic, Nicole D. Agaronnik, Karen Donelan, Tara Lagu, and Eric G. Campbell, “Physicians’ Perceptions of People with Disability and their Health Care,” Health Affairs, vol. 40, no. 2 (Feb. 1, 2021) (footnotes omitted), found at https://www.healthaffairs.org/

[55] The Arc of the United States, “Vaccine Discrimination: Disability Advocates File Federal Lawsuit Alleging 6 Maryland Jurisdictions Discriminate in Vaccine Process” (March 9, 2021), (quoting Lauren Young), found at https://thearc.org/vaccine-discrimination-disability-advocacy-groups-file-federal-lawsuit-alleging-6-maryland-jurisdictions-discriminate-in-vaccine-process/

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160 Disabilities Topics for Research Papers & Essays

Looking for interesting disability topics for a research paper or project? This field is hot, controversial, and definitely worth studying!

🏆 Best Disability Topics for Research Papers

👍 disability essay topics, 📑 research questions about disabilities, 🎓 good research topics about disabilities.

The disability study field includes the issues of physical, mental, and learning disabilities, as well as the problem of discrimination. In this article, we’ve gathered great disability essay topics & research questions, as well as disability topics to talk about. We hope that our collection will inspire you.

• Case Study of a Child with Intellectual Disability It is crucial to integrate the input of a learning coach into the school curriculum to encourage the participation of Meagan’s parents in his educational endeavors.
• Students With Disabilities in Higher Education Institutions Accommodations for students depend on the disability type that the student has, and whether the disability allows the student to get an accommodation in the institution.
• Government Grants for People With Disabilities The paper will be based on the conditions of disabled people and the federal or state grants that they could receive in order to facilitate changes in their health and work.
• Sociocultural Barriers for People With Disabilities On the other hand, stigmatization, stereotyping and prejudice have been highlighted as the barriers to social inclusion of people with disabilities in society.
• Managing Students With Disabilities Instructional issues that are encountered in education are those arising due to the inability of the students to acquire, maintain, and relate the skills that are learned in class to other settings within and outside […]
• Women, Development and Disabilities The mission of the organization is to enhance the voice of women in society and influence other organizations that advocate for women rights.
• The Problems of Children With Disabilities and Possible Ways of Solution It is very important for disabled people to be on the same level with others in the conditions that compensate the deviations in the development and constraints of the abilities in learning.
• Children With Disabilities in Education By the end of the experiment the student will demonstrate his ability to understand the information, to discuss it, and to reflect his ideas in writing.
• Children With Learning Disabilities The following research questions will be used in achieving the objectives: What is the role of learning disabilities in affecting the ability of the students to learn?
• Learning Disabilities: Differentiating ADHD and EBD As for the most appropriate setting, it is possible to seat the child near the teacher. It is possible to provide instructions with the help of visual aids.
• Employees With Disabilities and Their Workplace Behavior In H3, the authors found that employees with disabilities remained loyal and committed to work and were satisfied with their job.
• Mental Disabilities: Characteristics and Causes TBIs are caused by an impact of the head against a blunt object or from its penetration by a sharp object; it often results from vehicle accidents. Autism is a developmental disorder that influences the […]
• Autism and Educational Process Owing to these adverse effects that can stem from autism and the shear prevalence of the condition in the country’s population, a lot of research effort has been dedicated to the early diagnosis and treatment […]
• Lawsuits Regarding College Students With Disabilities Abuse is one of the factors considered to have discouraged physically challenged students from pursuing their academic careers.
• Living with Disabilities from an Insider’s Perspective Additionally, Armendariz was able to use a prosthetic arm to assist with her disability which she recalled as being helpful before it led to severe negativity from her peers at the time.
• Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) There is a commission in the US that fights for the rights of people with disabilities when it comes to employment.
• Poems with Disabilities by Jim Ferris This is good evidence for the argument of the need to eliminate the issue of ableism. Language evolves gradually, and countering the issue of ableism is a long-term goal.
• Recreational Activities for People with Disabilities Even the number of customized recreational equipments should be increased so as to enable the people with disabilities to choose from.
• Peer Buddy Programs for Students With Disabilities In the essay, the author will provide recommendations with regard to how the peer buddy program can be successfully implemented in schools in the future. The aim is to enhance the success of the peer […]
• The Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities Policy The paper outlines the proper policy and procedure of incident reporting and investigation and thus, provides how to become an agent for the Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities and satisfy individuals receiving services.
• Computer-Based Technologies That Assist People With Disabilities The visually impaired To assist the visually impaired to use computers, there are Braille computer keyboards and Braille display to enable them to enter information and read it. Most of these devices are very expensive […]
• People With Disabilities and Their Employment Issues The major similarity between the perceptions of older people and individuals with disabilities is based on the belief that they are slow and could slow down the other workers and the idea that the managers […]
• People With Disabilities in the Frida Movie After the accident, her father bought her a canvas that she would use for painting because she loved art and was an artist, helping her cope with her disability.
• Safety Evacuation for People with Disabilities First, before a disaster occurs, the government should be aware of the number of individuals in the scenario and keep track of them to verify the figures are correct.
• Individuals with Disabilities: Social Misconceptions One of the misconceptions I noticed is the community’s attitudes to people with disability. Community views about individuals with disabilities can also be impacted by features of the person with a disability unrelated to the […]
• Individuals With Disabilities: Prejudice and Discrimination I researched that people with persistent medical or physical disorders, such as cerebral palsy or multiple sclerosis, who have speech, articulation, or communication impairments, for example, are sometimes seen as having an intellectual deficiency. Corey […]
• Special Olympics and Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities Together with partners, the Special Olympics aspires to improve the health outcomes for people with physical and mental disabilities to close the gap with the healthy population who are more advantaged in terms of access […]
• Ohio Department of Developmental Disabilities’ Staff Training Specifically, the introduction of the assessment modules for the evaluation of the staff members’ compliance with the set requirements will be enacted.
• The Quality of the Working Environment for Persons With Disabilities The progressive introduction of new practices more tolerant of the disabled will be carried out at every stage of the work cycle and in every segment of the corporation as a connected infrastructure.
• Developmental Disabilities: Best Practice and Support Family therapy and the creation of support groups seem to be an effective method for children with disabilities and their environment.
• Bronx Developmental Disabilities Council: Organization Assessment During events, council, and committee meetings, the organization provides printed materials with information on disability and the prevention of social distancing of people with disabilities.
• Assistive Technologies for Individuals with Disabilities A rehabilitation consultant will be able to recommend this equipment to people who are acutely worried about the inability to use a computer and the Internet to ensure a comfortable life.
• Smart Farms Hiring People with Disabilities Although Smart Farms is a non-profit organization and benefits from donations, the workers play their role in income generation by working on the farms and sales.
• Americans with Disabilities Act and Nursing Practice Acts such as the Americans with Disabilities Act affect not only the political and legal environment in a country but also the rights and responsibilities of nurses.
• Life of Individuals Dealing with Disabilities The child’s image hitting the t-ball also showcased a powerful issue, that disabled individuals should be treated similarly to other people and given equal opportunities to give them the chance to perform optimally.
• Partnership for People with Disabilities’ Mission The mission of this organization is to partner with stakeholders both in the intellectual and developmental disability community and other interested groups at Virginia Commonwealth University. The organization was founded in 1985 to better people’s […]
• The Experience of Parents of Children With Disabilities Enhancing support for the mental well-being of parents of children with a disability: developing a resource based on the perspectives of parents and professionals.
• Healthcare Disparities in People With Disabilities In addition to health care disparities, such as poor access to care, including preventive one, and dependency, people with disabilities also face higher morbidity and lack of insurance.
• Employment for People With Disabilities Accommodation is also considered to be a restructuring of work and the attraction of other personnel to help in adaptation – as it should have happened with Adele.
• Laws Protecting the Rights of People With Disabilities The aim of this essay is to research the law that protects the rights of people with disabilities in the context of sporting events.
• People With Disabilities in Society I think that these people are powerful and inspiring, as they prove to the world that it is possible to live life to the fullest with a disability.
• People With Disabilities and Social Work Moreover, there is a tendency towards the rise in the number of such people because of the deterioration of the situation and the growing number of environmental concerns.
• Alternate Assessments for Students With Learning Disabilities The problem is that many school districts experience difficulties with proposing adequate formative and summative assessments for those students who require special attention.
• People with Disabilities’ Problem of Employment Although truck driving can be a stressful job, it is not evident if it is true, and thus, it is important for John to experience the job-related himself and determine whether he can handle it. […]
• Living with Disabilities in the Nondisabled World A variety of laws, initiatives, and regulations are currently implemented to ensure simpler and less costly access to information resources and the functionality of a device.
• United Arab Emirates Schools: Students With Learning Disabilities The current UAE public school environment does not allow for the provision of the necessary skills due to the lack of a proper teaching strategy.
• Workplace and People With Disabilities The purpose of the research is to make coherent and accurate observations in regards to the usefulness of the given method in improving the overall attitudes of people and organizations toward people with disabilities.
• Career Counseling for People With Disabilities To sufficiently research, the issue of career counseling for individuals with disabilities in the academic press, a list of journals that offer such information was developed.
• Genetic Modification and Implicit Bias Against People With Disabilities There is also a factor of disabilities that are life-threatening to a child, or illnesses that may be able to be fatal within the first few years of life.
• Impact of Social Darwinism on the Perception of Human Disabilities In addition, connecting behavior such as the likeliness of criminality to genetics is incorrect and damaging not only to the individual but to a community and society as a whole.
• Music Therapy for Children With Learning Disabilities This review includes the evidence supporting music therapy as an effective strategy for promoting auditory, communication, and socio-emotional progression in children with ASD.
• Healthcare Professionals: Individuals With Developmental Disabilities The presentation provide an overview of relevant health related issues in individuals with developmental disabilities and how it relates to the group of professionals assigned.
• Protection for Persons With Disabilities and Their Service Animals Additionally, it must be trained to give assistance to a person with disability. Service animals that can be selected to assist persons with disability must be either a dog or a miniature horse.
• Death Penalty: Juveniles and Mental Disabilities Consequently, the Eight Amendment should dismiss the death penalty for this category and state laws must implement recommendations of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the American Psychological Association, and the American Bar Association that […]
• The Prevalence, Effects and Challenges of Developmental Disabilities While the increase in the number of people with developmental disabilities is attributed to the rising numbers of the aging population, disabilities may arise in childhood and affect the entire lives of people.
• Community Disability Awareness Program: Elderly Women With Disabilities A measurable outcome in the program’s success will be a decline in the rate of crime related to elderly women with disabilities.
• The Understanding of Needs of People With Learning Disabilities Despite several problems in the overall design of the strategy that can be used to improve the nursing services for PLD, Drozd and Clinch make a very valid point by stressing the significance of a […]
• Addressing the Needs of People With Learning Disabilities As a student aiming at becoming a Nurse Practitioner, I am currently focusing on the exploration of the options for managing the work of the nursing staff, as well as seeking the opportunities for improving […]
• Discrimination Against Customers With Disabilities The role of the law is to regulate such cases and to provide necessary tools for both sides to prove their point of view.
• Elderly Women with Disabilities: Problems and Needs Despite the economic crisis, the cost of medical care has also increased due to the rise in the number of lawsuits filed against the physicians of the state.
• Relationship Satisfaction and Psychological Well-Being Among Greek People With Physical Disabilities In the light of this lack of knowledge, the present study attempts to explore the degree of relationship satisfaction in connection with the way handicapped people deal with the challenges of romantic involvement, as well […]
• Communication and People With Disabilities The bathrooms were close to the food court; moreover, there were special handle bars which helped to transfer to the commode and, at this, the height of the commode was almost the same as the […]
• Music Therapy as a Related Service for Students With Disabilities From a neuroscientific perspective, how would music intervention improve classroom behaviors and academic outcomes of students with ADHD as a way to inform policy-makers of the importance of music therapy as a related service?
• Problem Behaviors in Intellectual Disabilities Community The proposed quality designed study will evaluate the behavior of people with intellectual disabilities over a certain period of time and consequently conclude the primary triggers that influence ID people to demonstrate behavioral issues, including […]
• Law for People With Disabilities in California The family, the immediate environment of a person with disabilities, is the main link in the system of his or her care, socialization, the satisfaction of needs, support, and career guidance.
• The Resilience Experiences of People With Disabilities The focus of the study was on the participants’ lived experiences, as well as their attitudes towards certain aspects, so the use of interviews as a data collection method is justified.
• Literature Circles for Students With Learning Disabilities On the other hand, the affected individuals contend that the categorization should be removed to pave the way for the integration of assistances where all needs are attended without classification regardless of the student’s physical […]
• Students With Disabilities: Research Analysis In the process of undertaking this research and practical alignment, there is a misalignment in the inclusion of students with disabilities in the GE class.
• School Counselors for Students With Disabilities When the goals are set out, and the professional sphere is chosen, the counselor becomes responsible for the student’s preparation and reception of essential job skills as well as for the communication with the post-school […]
• Adaptive Behavior Skills and Intellectual Disabilities Four assessment tools are important for identifying adaptive behavior and skills: the Adaptive Behavior Scale, the Scale of Independent Behavior, and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale.
• The Specific Needs of Students With Physical Disabilities The research problem that will be the focus of the planned paper relates to the specific needs of students with physical disabilities or behavioral issues in general classrooms.
• Assistive Technology for Students with Disabilities The United Nations Convention on the Rights of people with disabilities proposes a raft of measures to be undertaken by states to promote the wellbeing of individuals with disabilities.
• Job for Individuals With Physical Disabilities For instance, when a new technology is about to be installed, it will be rational for a number of workers based on departments to be selected and taken through how to use the innovation, such […]
• Therapeutic Vests for Children With Disabilities The purpose of this review is to examine the available literature on the effectiveness of using therapeutic vests, weighted vests, and pressure vests on children with Autism spectrum disorders, Attention deficit disorder, Pervasive Development Disorder, […]
• An Audit of the Accessibility of the College of the North Atlantic-Qatar to Individuals With Physical Disabilities It should be noted that structural presentation of the paper is considered to be one of the most important elements of the paper because it allows following the logical thought of the research paper.
• Learning Disabilities and Communication Disorders The students are also being taken through research-based and special education programs and the determination of these disorders is done cooperatively between teachers and specialists like psychologists.
• Children With Disabilities: Supporting Student Behavior The comfortable atmosphere will help the children to attend the class and also provide a good way to mingle with the children with disabilities.
• Americans With Disabilities and Act Amendments Act to the ADA: The Main Issues and Comparison Moreover, the essence of the major amendments to the ADA is disclosed in the article using comparison and implications of those changes for the public use in the spheres of employment and human resources management […]
• Teaching Character Education to Students With Behavioral and Learning Disabilities The purpose of the study was to determine the effectiveness of character education programs implemented in schools on students with behavioral and learning disabilities.
• Plan of the Kickball Game That Involves the Students With the Disabilities While simulating the situation where one is in charge of the PE class, one needs to remember that disability is never inability, thus the students with the disabilities can participate in any games as well […]
• American With Disabilities Amendment Act The main intention of the Act is that civilians receiving benefits or services through the measures of local and state governments may not be differentiated on the fundamentals of the individual’s physical disabilities.
• Genetic Testing Under Americans With Disabilities Act There is nothing surprising in the fact that the genetically tested employees counted the testing as a violation of their human rights, and The Americans with Disabilities Act was adopted in 1990.
• Americans With Disabilities Act for Employers However, in practice, an employer could still legally discriminate against those with disabilities An employer is obligated to make reasonable accommodations for an employee or applicant if they are ‘otherwise qualified’ to perform the responsibilities […]
• Teaching Language to Students With Severe Disabilities The objective of this study is to find the different approaches that can be used in teaching phonics and the whole language to students with varied severe disabilities.
• Program Improvement: Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities The government has been keen to present specific resources and support systems that can support the educational and career goals of these individuals.
• Daily Living Skills Training for Individuals With Learning Disabilities Teaching individuals with physical and mental disabilities the life skills needed to compensate for their disadvantages are considered to be the key factor to ensuring a relatively safe, functional, and happy life for those individuals.
• Teaching Adaptive Behavior Skills to Children Suffering From Intellectual Disabilities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia This theoretical framework will contribute to the validation of the perspectives used by the teachers to construct their system of beliefs regarding the process of teaching ABS to students with ID.
• Life Stages of People with Learning Disabilities In order to proceed with the observation, it is necessary to identify the normal issues likely to be encountered by the representatives of both groups.
• Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities in the Workplace Intellectual disability puts a strain on an individual’s ability to have a social life and communicate with other human beings due to the fact that their capability of adapting is limited to a certain extent.
• Lifespan Development and Learning Disabilities in Childhood Parents in this situation would most likely select the authoritative parenting style to manage children because they are left to make their own choices under a guided framework.
• Natural Supports for Individuals With Disabilities Natural supports can be defined as personal connections and associations that improve the quality of a person’s life; these primarily include family relationships and friendships and constitute “the first line of supports, followed by informal […]
• Ican Bike for Individuals With Disabilities I think iCan Bike is a very good initiative that targets a vulnerable population with a plethora of special needs and relies on the community in order to deliver the results.
• Ableism: Bias Against People With Disabilities People concerned with rights advocacy ought to ensure a facilitated awareness of the distressing impacts of ableism through the inclusion of the subject in private and public discussions.
• Children With Disabilities and Parental Mistreatment The information in the article is helpful for parents of children with disabilities and other parents since it assists them in appreciating the significance of each parent’s education in lessening the incidence of child disability.
• School Counselor Job for People With Disabilities A school counselor that faces the risk of having a cardiovascular incident is challenged by the possible implications of the disease that could have an adverse impact on the overall practice and well being. Therefore, […]
• Americans With Disabilities in Criminal Justice Agencies Since the legislation is relatively new, the process of the change requires such guidelines given the lack of an appropriate number of the best practices for the time being.
• Rights of Parents of Students With Disabilities Trying to fix the problem, parents should understand that the only way they are to behave is the move in the direction of a correct education of their child.
• Strategies for Teaching Students With Mild Disabilities The good thing about having a child with a disability in the family is that it teaches everyone in the household to be patient. The greatest problem I have encountered in having a child with […]
• Learning Disabilities and Memory Disorders Large amounts of phenylalanine in the blood will result in complications of the neurons in the central nervous system referred to as myelinization of the cerebral hemispheres.
• Students With Mild and Moderate Disabilities Sometimes students with disabilities are not able to understand what they are to do if the instruction is not explicit and systematic. It is difficult for students with mild and moderate disabilities to generalize the […]
• Teaching Children With Multiple Disabilities The teacher should also assist such a child in maintaining a perceptual continuum than learners who are not handicapped. On the same note, the teacher should not give the amount of work similar to children […]
• Constructivism Theory for Adolescents with Disabilities The key component of the theory is people’s interaction with the environment. Therefore, Vygotsky’s theory is effective in developing the social and academic skills of an adolescent with learning and behavior disabilities.
• Veterans With Disabilities: Integration and Employment In this paper, the researcher looks at the main barriers to employment and integration back to the society that the veterans face, and the manner in which the existing policies can be amended to help […]
• Intellectual Disabilities and Higher Education The access to higher education for individuals with ID and the attitude of their parents towards their performance can be analyzed with the help of equity theory.
• Students With Intellectual Disabilities and Their Independence Some of these programs in the US include the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, which provides grants for research, technology, and training for disabled individuals, as well as the Secondary Education Act of 2002, […]
• Independence of Students With Intellectual Disabilities In a humane and highly functional society, students with physical and intellectual disabilities should be allowed to function independently and enjoy their personal and academic life to the fullest.
• School Event Supporting Students With Disabilities Because of the vast opportunities for vulnerable groups to share their experiences and create a bond with the rest of the learners in a non-threatening environment, significant progress in encouraging disability awareness and the promotion […]
• Intellectual Disabilities and Limitations for Human Life The recognition of the lack of such skills can contribute to future opportunities for an independent life with effective interdependence and inclusion in the life of a society.
• Psychological Testing of Intellectual Disabilities Speaking of its psychometric properties, the PCL-5 is a valid and reliable self-report measure for the assessment and quantifying symptoms of PTSD.
• Young Adult Children With Intellectual Disabilities Like in the study, I would also use pilot testing of the questionnaire to ascertain its validity and reliability in measuring the intended variables. The descriptions of the concepts and terms in this study are […]
• Effective Teaching of Students with Disabilities To support the information that was posted in three blog entries, the author of this submission reviewed other literature on the subject to be able to support their point of view.
• Parenting Children With Learning Disabilities A number of parents also feel worthless since they get an impression that the respective learning disabilities portrayed in their children are due to their own genetic malformations.
• Caregivers’ Perceptions of People With Intellectual Disabilities The proposed study will present new approaches and practices that can be used to support the health needs of many patients with mental disabilities.
• Students With Learning Disabilities and Assessment The education of students with learning disabilities poses great difficulty for the majority of parents and educators. It may not be self-evident that the learning problems of students are attributable to learning disabilities.
• Patients With Learning Disabilities: Quality Care Although the current study is not aimed at detecting the differences in the efficacy of the intervention based on the gender of the participants, the outcomes of the research may create prerequisites for a follow-up […]
• Talent-Oriented Therapy: Patients With Learning Disabilities Although the tool to be designed in the course of the research will have to experience a range of tests, it will serve as the impetus for the further development of the framework.
• Emotional and Behavioural Disabilities in Schools Furthermore, there is equal doubt about whether the professionals in the sphere of education give no significance to the term of emotional and behavioural disability itself.
• Grandparents Raising Grandchildren With Disabilities In the case of their absence, these grandparents worry about the well-being of their disabled grandchildren and the influence they have on other children.
• Employment Equity Act: Aboriginals and Disabilities Persons If the Employment Equity Act is applied appropriately, the Act will guarantee that people in the labour force are given the opportunity of the equivalent admission to job openings along with identical management in the […]
• People With Disabilities: Local and a Federal Law’ Regulation To be more exact, the current standards need to be shaped so that the policy in question should not affect the social perception of people with physical or mental disabilities.
• Students With Learning Disabilities: Needs and Problems According to Chloe, there are three aspects associated with this complex issue, and they are the problem of appropriate parents and professionals’ intervention, the problem of identifying resources, and the problem of government’s funding.
• Students With Disabilities: Characteristics and Strategies Disability Categories Example Strategy English Learner Students 1 Autism is the developmental disability which influences the aspects of social interaction and different types of communication. The child with this disability can demonstrate various restricted and stereotypic patterns of behavior. The student with autism cannot focus attention on the teacher’s words, demonstrates the unusual gestures and […]
• Instructional Plan in Writing for Learners With Disabilities The purpose of this essay is to provide an instructional plan for learners with disabilities in writing. Writing skills require learners to account for the task, the aim of writing and audience.
• People with Disabilities: The Systemic Ableism Whereas the absence of disability in the fashion world is based on the dominant view of what is considered beautiful, the absence of disabled in politics can be explained with the lack of access to […]
• Writing Disabilities Management in Children Learning disorder is among the defects, which interferes with the writing abilities of a person or a child. The first way to identify children with writing disabilities is through observation of their behaviour.
• Developmental Disabilities and Lifelong Learning Some of the common transitional programs for children with developmental disabilities would include things such as books, learning manuals, and software programs intended to assist the children in adjusting to the new programs or settings.
• Action Plan for Patrons With Disabilities For instance, the writer of the essay suggests that in terms of facility planning, it is vital for the library to invest in wiring its facilities with audio induction loop.
• Remediation in Students with Disabilities Since this strategy is essentially crucial to the curriculum, this proposal will portray the importance of conducting a profound research that seeks to determine the effectiveness of remediation in reading.
• Improving Reading Performance of Students With Learning Disabilities The purpose of the present research is to assess the efficiency of utilizing Reading Racetracks to improve the reading of words found on the K-2 list key phrases adopted in the school district.
• Americans With Disabilities Act With all due respect to the efforts of the U.S.government to come up with a framework, which would allow for a faster and a more efficient integration of the disabled into the society, the fact […]
• GM’s Committal to People With Disabilities The company aims to create awareness about PWDs by providing support and information to employees with disabilities and other PWDs outside the GM community.
• Supporting Students with Speech Impairment This assistive technology uses appropriate symbols and techniques to support the needs of different learners. These technologies will support the needs of many learners.
• Physical Disabilities and Assistive Technology For example, learners with visual impairments can use text-to-speech programs. Learners with physical disabilities can be gathered for with the help of assistive technology devices such as adaptive keyboard and screen reading software for learners […]
• Sensory Disabilities and Age of Onset This can happen, for instance, when learning the subject that call for lots of diagrams, figures and illustrations to be applied, which may also give a challenge to the visually impaired students.
• High Incidence Disabilities and Pedagogical Strategies for Learning Disabilities In the context of disability, it is important to mention that this model is beneficial to students with learning disabilities as it involves teaching them how to approach tasks and use knowledge to complete learning […]
• Families With Members Who Experience Disabilities Early childhood services which offer professionalized care services to parents help them meet the needs of the special children so that parents are able to balance their strengths, resources and challenges in the family.
• Support Inclusion and Effective Practices for Students With Disabilities The purpose of this article is positioning that the ambition towards support inclusion and effective practices for students with disabilities have to be the groundwork for inclusive postsecondary education.
• Peer Buddy Program: Students with Disabilities in High School This research paper seeks to establish the purpose, importance, and rationale of the study of peer buddy program on students with disabilities in high school, in both social and academic grounds.
• An Action Plan for Serving Individuals With Disabilities – Library and Information Science First is the total cost of the whole project, the architectural design of the library building and whether it can accommodate the new developments and the current issues affecting accessibility with regards to the disabled.
• Internal Campaign Planning for Inclusion of Persons With Disabilities The key mandate of the act was to protect the employment rights of persons with disabilities. Secondly, newsletters can be developed so as to raise awareness on the importance of diversity and inclusion.
• Human Rights of People With Intellectual Disabilities Since disability is not inability, human rights’ advocates argue that perception of people with disabilities as disabled is discriminative and therefore call for their recognition as a minority people with unique abilities that do not […]
• Adolescents with Learning and Behaviour Disabilities: Graduation and Employment Difficulties One of the causes of high school dropout of this group of students is the feeling of being out of place.
• The Problem of Reading of Children With Learning Disabilities The difference in phonological awareness and reading between groups of children with SSDs and a language matched comparison group Reading fluency is a key tool of assessment the reading disability among children.
• People With Disabilities The code consists of sixteen articles that define the terms associated with disability in Saudi Arabia, the role of the government in the welfare of disabled children, administration of the bodies concerned with disabled person, […]
• Classroom Design for Children With Disabilities Furthermore, children with disabilities require individual attention from the teacher just like the other children, and if the classroom is congested it would be difficult for the teacher to reach such learners.
• Culturally Responsive Teaching of Students With Disabilities Cultural Responsive teaching is a teaching technique used to identify and address cognitive, social, emotional, and cultural and language needs of students with developmental needs as a way of providing them with assistance in all […]
• People With Disabilities and Abuse of People With Disabilities and Criminal Justice In addition, there is need to train police, lawyers and other persons in the criminal justice system on how to interact with persons with disabilities.
• Terminology and Etiquette Discussion Regarding Persons With Disabilities The media refer to people with disability as to persons with special needs, which reveals the inappropriate use of terminologies to refer to them.
• People With Disabilities and the Hotel Industry According to this act, the needs of people with disabilities should be satisfied in relation to the fixed rules in order to provide the necessary conditions for these persons and follow the principle of the […]
• Post Education for Adults With Disabilities Recommendations for further research and practice that refer to the disability problems are presented at the end of the paper with the purpose of enabling the interaction of services.
• The Right Attitude Towards Disabled People First, it can be questioned whether any form of physical or mental disability can be referred to as something that deserves to be ‘celebrated’, as the promoters of political correctness want us to believe.
• Assistive Technology for Kids with Learning Disabilities An increasing number of educators are incorporating frame routines to the web platform, in which a constant touch with both students and parents is maintained.
• Inclusion for Students With Severe Disabilities Modification and accommodation are the methods used to manipulate education system to make it favourable for these students. Modification and Accommodation are the methods used to manipulate the system to make it favourable for students […]
• The Impact of a Fitness Intervention on People with Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities This is one of the issues that should be singled out. This is one of the issues that should be considered.
• Current Trends and Issues in Educating Students With Disabilities Following the existence of cases of racial and ethnic bias across the United States educational system, the government has seen the importance to intervene in improving education in the U.S.
• General Curriculum for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Learners The purpose of the study was to examine the extent to which learners with intellectual and developmental disabilities have access to the general education curriculum and the extent to which such access is related to […]
• US Should Ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities The UN has recognized the importance of the disabled person’s rights and freedoms and has come up with the UN convention on the Rights of People with disabilities, CRPD and has urged member states to […]
• The Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act However, the gradual increase in the number of individuals with learning disabilities led to the disapproval of this method. As a result of this separation and early identification school performances tend to improve and the […]
• Defining Disabilities in Modern World Defining disability has not been easy due to the various opinions related to the understanding of the concept. Disability has significant impact on the society due to the relationships that exists between the individual and […]
• Preschool Teachers’ Actions for Integrating Children With Disabilities Of special interest was whether the gravity of a child’s educational requirements and the teacher’s knowledge about the disability condition were linked to teacher’s responses towards incorporating such children in their classrooms.
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Essay on Disability

Students are often asked to write an essay on Disability in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Disability

Understanding disability.

Disability means having a condition that makes it tough to do certain things. Some people are born with disabilities, while others get them from accidents or illnesses. Disabilities can be seen, like when someone uses a wheelchair, or unseen, like trouble with learning or hearing.

Types of Disabilities

There are many kinds of disabilities. Physical ones affect the body, like trouble walking. Sensory disabilities impact senses, like being blind. Mental health and learning disabilities affect the mind, making learning or feeling good harder.

Living with Disability

People with disabilities can do many things. They go to school, work, and play sports. Sometimes they need tools or help to do these things. It’s important to treat everyone with respect and kindness, no matter what.

Support and Rights

Laws protect people with disabilities, giving them the same chances as others. Ramps, special software, and support in school are examples. These help make sure that everyone, regardless of ability, can join in all parts of life.

250 Words Essay on Disability

Disability is when a person has a condition that makes it more challenging for them to do certain things. This can be because of problems with their body or their mind. Just like everyone is different in their own way, disabilities are different too. Some people are born with disabilities, while others may get them because of an accident or illness.

There are many types of disabilities. Some people might have trouble seeing, hearing, or walking. Others might find it hard to learn or remember things. It’s important to know that just because someone has a disability, it doesn’t mean they can’t live a full and happy life. They can still play, learn, and work; they might just do these things in a different way.

People with disabilities use tools and help from others to make their lives easier. For example, someone who can’t see well might use a cane or a guide dog to walk around. There are also special computers and programs that help people with different kinds of disabilities to study or do jobs.

Being Kind and Respectful

It’s very important to be kind and respectful to everyone, including people with disabilities. They should be treated just like anyone else. You can be a good friend by understanding their needs and helping them when they ask for it. Remember, having a disability doesn’t stop someone from being a great friend, artist, scientist, or anything else they want to be!

500 Words Essay on Disability

When we talk about disability, we mean a condition that makes it hard for a person to do certain things. This could be because their body or mind works differently from what most people consider usual. Disabilities can be seen, like someone in a wheelchair, or unseen, like someone who has trouble learning.

Disabilities come in many forms. Some people are born with them, while others might get a disability because of an accident or illness. Physical disabilities affect the body, making it tough to walk, see, hear, or move around. Mental disabilities can make learning, communicating, or handling emotions challenging.

Life with a Disability

Living with a disability means facing challenges that others might not think about. Simple things like climbing stairs, reading a book, or remembering directions can be hard. But it’s important to know that having a disability doesn’t stop someone from living a full and happy life. People with disabilities go to school, work, play sports, and enjoy time with friends and family just like anyone else.

Accessibility and Support

To help people with disabilities, we need to make places more accessible. This means creating ramps for wheelchairs, having books in Braille for those who can’t see, and using sign language for those who can’t hear. Support also comes from friends, family, and helpers who give their time and love to make sure everyone can join in.

Respect and Understanding

Sometimes, people don’t understand what it’s like to have a disability, and they might act in a way that is not kind. It’s very important to treat everyone with respect, no matter how they look or what they can or can’t do. By learning about disabilities, we can be better friends and help make sure everyone feels included.

Technology and Disabilities

Technology has done a lot to help people with disabilities. There are computers that speak for those who can’t talk, wheelchairs that can climb stairs, and apps that help people who have trouble with learning. These tools open up a world of possibilities and help break down barriers.

The Power of Positivity

Having a disability might make some things tougher, but it can also teach us about strength and courage. Many people with disabilities have done amazing things and have shown that it’s not the disability that defines them, but their talents and personality. With a positive attitude, anyone can overcome challenges and reach their goals.

Disability is part of the human experience, and it touches all of us in one way or another. By learning about it and creating a world that is good for everyone, we build a kinder, more understanding society. Remember, it’s not our differences that matter, but how we treat each other. With care and support, we can all help make life better for people living with disabilities.

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Disability Visibility

75 pages • 2 hours read

Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-first Century

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Summary and Study Guide

Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century (2020) is an anthology of 37 nonfiction essays collected by disability rights activist Alice Wong. Each essay concerns a different aspect of what it means to be disabled, and the volume includes writings from people with physical, intellectual, psychiatric, and sensory disabilities. These essays center a broad array of topics, including medical trauma, personal relationships, career success, family dysfunction, art, activism, history, and politics.

Disability Visibility ’s model of disability studies and activism is thoroughly intersectional. Most of the contributing authors are queer, women, and/or people of color. Many of them draw specific attention to how these identities intersect with their disabilities and disabled status. Many are also multiply disabled, which they explore in varying degrees of detail.

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This text is one part of a broader effort called the Disability Visibility Project (DVP). Spearheaded by Wong, DVP is an ongoing multimedia project and digital community dedicated to collecting, preserving, and sharing disability media and culture. This banner includes several other books, a digital archive, a podcast, and a blog. Like DVP, Disability Visibility aims to capture and share a broad range of disabled experiences and perspectives. To make the text widely accessible, it is available in a variety of formats including an audiobook, a braille edition, a plain language summary, and an adaptation for young readers.

This guide references the eBook edition from Vintage Books, published in 2020.

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CONTENT WARNING: This text (and this guide) contains extended discussions and depictions of ableism , medical abuse/malpractice, sexual assault, racism, sexism, classism, antisemitism, islamophobia, anti-queerness, eugenics, Nazism, physical injury, serious illness, and compulsory institutionalization. This book also contains frank discussions and depictions of human bodies, bodily fluids/waste (e.g.: blood, vomit, excrement, urine), sex and sexuality, and physical pain.

In her Introduction , editor Alice Wong introduces her work and the ethos behind this book: “I want to center the wisdom of disabled people […] Collectively, through our stories, our connections, and our actions, disabled people will continue to confront and transform the status quo” (xxii). The anthology comprises 37 nonfiction essays written by people with disabilities.

Harriet McBryde Johnson’s “Unspeakable Conversations” recalls her formal debate with Dr. Peter Singer at Princeton. On a personal level, Johnson finds Singer respectful and pleasant, but she regards his beliefs as genocidal towards disabled people.

“For Ki’tay D. Davidson, Who Loved Us” is a eulogy for disability rights advocate Ki’tay Davidson written by his surviving partner, Talila Lewis. Lewis celebrates Davidson’s identity as a Black, disabled, transgender man.

“If You Can’t Fast, Give” is a reflection by Maysoon Zayid, a Muslim performer with cerebral palsy. She writes about her experiences fasting during Ramadan .

In “There’s a Mathematical Equation that Proves I’m Ugly,” Ariel Henley describes the difficulties of growing up with facial deformities. The essay is built around a seventh-grade art lesson in which she recalls being taught “the golden ratio,” a mathematical formula created to objectively measure facial attractiveness.

“The Erasure of Indigenous People in Chronic Illness” recalls Jen Deerinwater’s experiences with anti-Indigenous racism in medical settings.

June Eric-Udorie’s “When You Are Waiting to Be Healed” charts her journey of self-acceptance. She grew up in a deeply religious family; her family members only acknowledged her disability when praying for God to “heal” it. As a young adult, Eric-Udorie finds a greater level of independence and self-esteem by acknowledging and accepting her disability.

“The Isolation of Being a Deaf Person in Prison” describes Jeremy Woody’s traumatic experiences as a deaf prisoner.

“Common Cyborg” concerns author Jillian Weise’s exploration of cyborg identity. She uses a prosthetic leg and defines cyborgs as disabled people who have technology incorporated into their bodies. She also refutes transhumanism from a disabled perspective .

“I’m Tired of Chasing a Cure” follows Liz Moore as they navigate life with chronic pain and bipolar disorder. Though they identify many things “wrong” with their body, they are tired of seeking relief through medicine and spiritual healing.

“We Can’t Go Back” by Ricardo T. Thornton Sr. is an excerpt from his statement before the US Senate. In it, he recounts his life’s story and argues that the intellectually disabled are fully capable of participating in society.

“Radical Visibility” discusses Sky Cubacub’s clothing brand, Rebirth Garments. Rebirth’s stated mission is to create fashionable and functional clothing for disabled and gender-nonconforming people.

Haben Girma’s “Guide Dogs Don’t Lead People. We Wander as One” centers on the dynamic she shares with her seeing-eye dog Mylo and describes the sensory experience of navigating together.

“Taking Charge of My Story as a Cancer Patient at the Hospital Where I Work” follows Diana Cejas through her residency at a hospital, centering on the fallout from her stroke and cancer diagnosis. She notices a unique social element to working at the hospital where she received treatment and struggles to adjust. As she recovers and progresses in her career, Cejas starts talking about her experiences on her own terms and hears other people’s stories in return.

Sandy Ho’s “Canfei to Canji” contends with her intersecting identities which are often in tension with each other. She is a disabled Asian American and the child of immigrants. Her parents immigrated to the United States in the 1980s, just prior to the rise of disability acceptance in China. As a result, they struggled to parent Sandy while contending with the assumption that disabled people are canfei— “a useless burden.”

“Nurturing Black Disabled Joy” is a reflection on hard-won hope by Keah Brown. Though she was initially a pessimistic, angry, and skeptical person, Brown now embraces the pursuit of joy and “living unapologetically.”

“Last but Not Least” describes Keshia Scott’s exploration of her sexuality. As a blind person, she initially took umbrage at the thought that she might be asexual because she’d been exposed to the ableist myth that all disabled people are either sexless or hypersexual. At the time of writing, she gladly embraces asexuality .

In “Imposter Syndrome and Parenting with a Disability,” Jessica Slice describes the way her disability limits her movement and how that impacts the way she raises her son.

“How to Make a Paper Crane from Rage” uses origami folding as a metaphor for suppressing one’s rage. Elsa Sjunneson writes about losing her father to AIDS, enduring sexual assault, and experiencing ableism.

“Selma Blair Became a Disabled Icon Overnight. Here’s Why We Need More Stories Like Hers” praises actress Selma Blair for her poise and confidence in the public eye after announcing her multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis. As a disabled person herself, author Zipporah Arielle is moved by seeing her experiences reflected in mainstream media.

“Why My Novel Is Dedicated to My Disabled Friend Maddy” by A. H. Reaume is an acknowledgment and celebration of disabled collaboration. Reaume and her friend, Maddy Sloan, have each sustained brain injuries that impact their abilities to function on a day-to-day basis. Reaume writes that she physically could not have finished her novel without Sloan’s help.

Rebecca Cokley’s “The Antiabortion Bill You Aren’t Hearing About” is a 2019 response to Texas Senate Bill 1033, which would ban abortion in the case of “severe fetal abnormality.” Though the bill is framed as a defense of disabled lives, Cokley identifies it as an assault on bodily autonomy.

“So. Not. Broken.” is Alice Sheppard’s exploration of what it means to be a dancer who uses a wheelchair.

“How a Blind Astronomer Found a Way to Hear the Stars” is a transcription of Wanda Díaz-Merced’s TED Talk on how her blindness led her to innovate as an astronomer.

“Incontinence Is a Public Health Issue— and We Need to Talk About It” addresses the shame and stigma attached to incontinence. Author Mari Ramsawakh demonstrates why this creates health risks for the people who suffer from it and presents her own experiences with incontinence as a case study.

In “Falling/Burning,” Shoshana Kessock uses comedian Hannah Gatsby’s special Nanette to explain her experience of being an artist with Bipolar II. Kessock refutes the idea that artists must suffer to achieve greatness by sharing her history with medication and productivity.

In “Six Ways of Looking at Crip Time,” Ellen Samuels explores the concept of “crip time,” defined by author Margaret Price as a “flexible approach to normative time frames” (175). Samuels explains the solitude and confusion she feels by creating six different iterations of crip time .

“Lost Cause” follows Reyma McCoy McDeid from early childhood to the time of writing. The essay is structured around moments in which she was told that she or something she was pursuing was a “lost cause.” She also explores the intersection of ableism, sexism, and racism and how it affects her.

“On NYC’s Paratransit, Fighting for Safety, Respect, and Human Dignity” recounts Britney Wilson’s experiences with Access-A-Ride, New York City’s paratransit service. Wilson’s testimony depicts Access-A-Ride as an extremely flawed service that overworks its drivers, wounds its disabled user base’s dignity, wastes their time, and even puts them in danger.

“Gaining Power Through Communication Access” is an excerpt from an interview with Lateef McLeod. The interview was conducted by Alice Wong on the Disability Visibility podcast. McLeod uses augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) as disability aids. He describes his history with AAC and other assistive technologies.

“The Fearless Benjamin Lay” simultaneously celebrates the life of the titular 18th-century abolitionist and little person. Author Eugene Grant, a self-identified dwarf person himself, also challenges Lay’s modern-day obscurity.

“To Survive Climate Catastrophe, Look to Queer and Disabled Folks” urges the reader to use multiply oppressed communities’ knowledge of survival to avert climate disaster.

“Disability Solidarity” is a document undersigned by the members of the Harriet Tubman Collective. It argues that social justice movements and discussions around police violence against Black people are incomplete without active anti-ableist praxis.

“Time’s Up for Me, Too” contains author Karolyn Gehrig’s appraisal of the “Time’s Up” and “Me, Too” movements, especially in Hollywood. As a disabled survivor of sexual assault, Gehrig feels that she and her disabled aunt, Virginia, are excluded from these movements.

“Still Dreaming Wild Disability Justice Dreams at the End of the World” consists of both poetry and prose . It concerns what it means to be disabled in times of widespread crisis and explores what disabled people can provide to social justice movements, including climate justice and protests against ICE concentration camps.

Jamison Hill’s “Love Means Never Having to Say… Anything” reflects on his relationship with his girlfriend, Sharon. Both have myalgic encephalomyelitis. Although they are unable to care for one another as able-bodied partners might, their shared experiences result in an extremely strong bond.

Stacey Milbern’s “On the Ancestral Plane” uses her favorite pair of shoes (“crip socks”) as a framing device to explore her ideological and cultural heritage as a disabled person.

“The Beauty of Spaces Created by and for Disabled People” describes what it feels like to be a disabled person in a majority-disabled audience at a dance recital created and performed by disabled people.

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Advanced Essay #2: Disability doesn't define you

People with disabilities tend to stand out more than others. In today's world people are quick to judge and talk about you. They assume you are incapable of doing everyday things. We are doubted the minute we step outdoors. The most annoying thing is the stares, whispers, and gossip. I experience this everyday. Having a disability will always be challenging. They can shape me into the person I am today.

Often times people tell me your beautiful. When I am outside there are people with ugly stares and rude comments. The comments are basically dismissing me. They see a disabled girl and automatically believe she doesn't belong here. Nicola griffith once said “ it took me years to feel the sting of nondisabled peoples dismissal”. Everyone has the thought of not being wanted. At times i say I am a burden to my family. Always having to ask for help is annoying for them at times. Even if they don't say it I know they think it.      

Sometimes it is hard to accept that I am pretty even with a disability. Trying to brush off the stares and, gossip the minute I walk outside is hard. In December I dealt with an incident with stares and gossip and let those people get the best of me. I went to church with my mom and siblings. A group of students from her job were performing “he's able”. After service we attended a mini art show. One of the choir boys looked at me and continued staring at me. Then he told his friend to do the same thing. The first boy whispered he’s scared of me to his friend. I pretended to not care and walked away. Unfortunately, the boys found me again and asked “are you ok”. Again I walked away, this time was different though. I started crying and let my emotions get the best of me.

Shortly after this incident I was reminded of my worth. My friend told me “ You were made to stand out and be different, and you are great and beautiful just the way you are”. This helped me feel better about who I am as a person. I knew my true beauty with my disability included.  Nowadays, I try to not let what people think of me affect me. The more I don't care about what people think, the more I begin to love myself. I have accepted that life will always be a challenge. However I will stay true to myself no matter what people say.

As a disabled person, we choose to either be a victim or live our life to the fullest. I watched a buzzfeed video titled Always live your best life !. In the video she says “ you can conquer everything that they told you couldn't do and be out here winning”.  Having a condition does not mean your exempt from being your best yourself. You are pretty and special just like every other human being. We are able to do things we have always wanted to do. Also we have our own way of doing things.

In our society people like to categorize each other. They singlehandley group people together and label them. Disabled people are silently judged all their life.  We get the ugly stares, gossip about our looks. People are not mature enough to ask about why we look this way. Instead they judge us and believe we are unable to be pretty without looking like everyone else. As a community we should be more welcoming to compliment one another. Especially anyone who stands out and has a disability. We are not exempt just because we have a disability. However we tend to stand out more than others.

Some people may see disability as a weakness. Its like society thinks less of us because we have a condition. When people whisper and stare they do it for enjoyment. I pretend to do my best to ignore them. Ignoring them helps me become a stronger person. My confidence within myself grows after each stare and comment. Nobody should be singled out because they look different. When we categorize ourselves it gives people the power to single us out.

Having a disability does not mean your less prettier than someone else. Your disability will always a part of you. Never forget your true beauty no matter what you experience. Each little annoying stare and gossip will  make you greater. Every incident I endured was for the greater good. Those incidents gave me power to know my true worth.

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‘Disability Intimacy’ starts a long-overdue conversation

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Book Review

Disability Intimacy: Essays on Love, Care, and Desire

Edited by Alice Wong Vintage: 384 pages, $19 If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org , whose fees support independent bookstores.

To whom does desire belong? How about love and care? These are the questions at the heart of “Disability Intimacy,” a new book of essays and ephemera collected by the San Francisco activist Alice Wong, and the answers are painfully obvious: Those human experiences are for everyone. What’s less obvious to many, and acutely painful to some of us, is that those questions needed to be asked and answered. This book needed to exist.

It is a longstanding and unfortunate truth that disabled people are often seen as undesirable and even as unable to experience desire, love or care in the ways that all individuals do. As disabled people we understand how false that notion is and how harmful it can be. Giving and receiving love — physically or verbally, in a context of romance, sex, close friendship or family bonds — is as much our right to experience as anyone else’s, and our stories of intimate connections and losses are worth telling as much as anyone else’s. So I commend Wong and the collection’s 40 contributors for taking on this topic.

“Disability Intimacy” is not an extended lament. Many of its standouts are downright celebratory, as well as lessons in engaging storytelling. “The Last Walk” by Melissa Hung explores the grief of losing a beloved friend while simultaneously cherishing their last moments together and the sling bag that became a physical memory of her friend Judy. In “Hi, Are You Single?” by Ryan J. Haddad, one of the standout poems in the collection, Haddad explores the messy, awkward and welcome way a hookup can support their collective desire for pleasure.

Having contributed to and read Wong’s anthology from 2020, “Disability Visibility,” I thought I knew what I was getting into, but the two collections are quite different. It was disappointing to come away from “Intimacy” without a theme as clear as that of “Visibility,” perhaps in part reflecting the older collection’s more straightforward subject matter. Love is complicated. And 40 contributors is a lot.

As one of the first of its kind to attempt what it is attempting, “Disability Intimacy” has the unfair expectation to be everything for everyone, to answer the question of desirability for an entire community that is not monolithic. Wong refuses to shut out the “other” in favor of the conventionally digestible. This collection shines in its entries that take big swings, discussing topics such as BDSM, queer love and intergenerational relationships — and even laziness, a concept that one essay reclaims and celebrates as a purposeful act of rest, epitomized by the love between a father and son who connect over turning out the light and climbing in bed to take naps. In these pieces, the authors seem to be living as unapologetically on the page as they do in life.

Tucked among the essays, readers will be delighted to also discover poems and even a conversation between two disabled people of color about redefining intimacy for themselves, ableism and what they refuse to call intimacy. It’s a refreshing and effective shakeup of the anthology form. It’s also a lot to take in.

I had to reread certain sections as some of the points got lost along the way, and sometimes I found myself mentally rearranging the book because entries felt misplaced. Although many of the pieces could have been shorter, none should have been left out. Might the cause have been better served with these many entries divided between two volumes? This could have encouraged the reader to sit with the thoughts and feelings that come up rather than rushing onward.

There is often a lot of pressure placed on books of this kind that amplify marginalized voices or tackle taboo topics, but remember: Sometimes a book does the world a service not because it is encyclopedic or full of answers but simply because it raises questions and starts conversations.

In the end, what we readers ask of ourselves is what counts. Whom do we allow ourselves to desire, and why? Toward whose stories do we gravitate, and whom do we leave in the margins? How will we expand our own worldview?

Keah Brown , a journalist, activist, actor and screenwriter, is the author of “ The Pretty One ” and “ The Secret Summer Promise .”

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People with disabilities essay

Disability is one of the most important issues in the contemporary society because stigmatization of people with disabilities contributed to the formation of biases and prejudices which put them into the disadvantageous position compared to people, who did not have problems of disability. Such biases and prejudices contributed to the discrimination of people with disabilities which has been eliminated consistently since the emergence of the Civil Rights movement and introduction of legal changes, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act. Nevertheless, today, the problem of people with disabilities and their discrimination persists because many biases and prejudices are resilient. In this regard, education is particularly vulnerable to the problem of the integration of students with disabilities into the learning process since the modern education system attempts to provide equal opportunities for all students, eliminating the discrimination of students with disabilities. Moreover, the modern education system confronts another problem, the problem of students with excessive abilities, who also face problems with the integration into the classroom environment and development of positive relations with their peers. In such a way, the concept of disability/ability is fulcrum of the contemporary education system in relation to students interaction and elimination of discrimination of students based on abilities/disabilities.

Disability is the complex notion that involves limited opportunities and special needs of people but it does not mean the inferiority of individuals compared to those, who do not have disability. At the same time, ability is a set of skills, knowledge and opportunities to exercise them to perform specific tasks. In such a situation, the risk of the widening gap between individuals with disabilities and those, who do not have them because disability can limit opportunities for individuals to exercise their knowledge, skills and opportunities to the full extent, while those, who do not have disabilities, can take the full advantage of their skills, knowledge and opportunities (Kudlick, 2005). In this regard, the attitude of the social environment to people with disabilities may be crucial for their social standing and opportunities to stand on the equal ground for others.

One of the major challenges people with disabilities face is the challenge in their professional training and development. Disability may limit learning abilities of individuals that prevent them from obtaining the target education and making a successful career. For example, many students with learning disabilities, such as ASD, have difficulties with learning that prevent them from successful learning. In such a situation, they cannot complete their education just like other students do, while the lack of education limits their career opportunities consistently. On the other hand, many researchers (Mansell, 2003) point out that students with disabilities may be as successful as other students, while some students may be even more successful than the average student in certain subjects.

In such a situation, disability may be a substantial obstacle on the way to the professional development of individuals and to their career. On the other hand, often it is not the disability proper but the prejudice of employers that becomes an obstacle on the way of people with disabilities. However, such discrimination tends to disappear due to legal changes, including the introduction of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and current policies aiming at the inclusion of disabled people. In this regard, the discrimination of people with disabilities persists because the power of prejudices and biases is very strong.

At the same time, educators should be aware of special needs of students with disabilities. They should understand that students with disabilities are no different from other students but they have special needs, which educators should match to help them to succeed in their learning and reach a considerable academic progress just like other students do. In fact, students with disabilities are not inferior compared to their peers but they just have special needs. For example, some researchers (Mansell, 2003) admit that even children with serious mental disabilities may be integrated in the learning process successfully on the condition of meeting needs of those students but the problem is that educators are not trained to work with such students. This is why they have difficulties while working with students with disabilities and the integration of students into the learning process and into their peer groups becomes quite difficult.

On the other hand, the modern education focuses on such issues as Knowledge, Enquiry, Empathy, Pluralism, Social Commitment to prevent the problem of discrimination of students with disabilities and to set educators free from their biases and prejudices in relation to students with disabilities. Knowledge is essential for educators to understand needs of students with disabilities. The enquiry is essential for the research of latest advancements in the field of education and exploration of the problem of disability. The empathy is essential for educators to treat students with disabilities, which educators should treat on the equal ground compared to other students. The pluralism is essential for educators to develop the personalized approach to each students, regardless of their abilities and disabilities. The social commitment is essential for educators to treat students with disabilities as an integral part of the school community. The social commitment means that educators should serve to interests of the community and help students with disabilities to integrate into their communities and help communities to accept children with disabilities as equal community members.

At the same time, there is another issue related to abilities, which often remains unnoticed by educators and researchers, which is the issue of excessive abilities. What is meant here is the fact that some students are gifted in certain fields, which make them different from other students and, to a certain extent, put them in the position similar to the position of students with disabilities (Enns, 2013). Excessive abilities lead to the focus of students on the specific subject, which is particularly interesting for them and where they are particularly successful. For example, gifted students may be successful in math that will put them in quite a challenging position. On the one hand, conventional math classes will be boring for them because instructions educators provide for other students may be not even necessary for gifted students, who understand those instructions perfectly and know more than other students, while their math skills may match standards which are normally attributed to higher grades. As a result, such students feel bored with the classroom environment and the learning process because math classes are not interesting for them because they do not contribute to their progress that discourages them from paying much attention to their math class. This trend can be traced in relation to other subjects, which gifted students may be particularly strong in.

On the other hand, gifted students may have difficulties with developing positive interpersonal relations with their peers. In fact, peers may feel the difference of gifted students because of their excessive abilities that may lead to the development of the sense of inferiority-superiority in relationships between the average and gifted students. In addition, gifted students may stay too focused on their favorite subjects or particular interests that also prevent them from developing positive interpersonal relations with other students. In such a way, students with excessive abilities have difficulties with building up positive interpersonal relationships with other students just like students with disabilities.

Thus, the concept of ability/disability turns out to be pivotal for the modern education system and society at large because it influences consistently the development of students and position of individuals with disabilities and excessive abilities. In this regard, disability and excessive ability are two extremes which may raise problems in the personal and professional development of individuals because they face the risk of the development of poor interpersonal relations with their peers. At the same time, both students with disabilities and excessive abilities need the integration into their classroom environment and development of positive interpersonal relationships with their peers.

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What federal education data shows about students with disabilities in the U.S.

Public K-12 schools in the United States educate about 7.3 million students with disabilities – a number that has grown over the last few decades. Disabled students ages 3 to 21 are served under the federal  Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) , which guarantees them the right to free public education and appropriate special education services.

For Disability Pride Month , here are some key facts about public school students with disabilities, based on the latest data from the  National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) .

July is both Disability Pride Month and the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. To mark these occasions, Pew Research Center used federal education data from  the National Center for Education Statistics  to learn more about students who receive special education services in U.S. public schools.

In this analysis, students with disabilities include those ages 3 to 21 who are served under the federal  Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) . Through IDEA, children with disabilities are guaranteed a “free appropriate public education,” including special education and related services.

The 7.3 million disabled students in the U.S. made up 15% of national public school enrollment during the 2021-22 school year. The population of students in prekindergarten through 12th grade who are served under IDEA has grown in both number and share over the last few decades. During the 2010-11 school year, for instance, there were 6.4 million students with disabilities in U.S. public schools, accounting for 13% of enrollment.

The number of students receiving special education services temporarily dropped during the coronavirus pandemic – the first decline in a decade. Between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years, the number of students receiving special education services decreased by 1%, from 7.3 million to 7.2 million. This was the first year-over-year drop in special education enrollment since 2011-12.

The decline in students receiving special education services was part of a 3% decline in the overall number of students enrolled in public schools between 2019-20 and 2020-21. While special education enrollment bounced back to pre-pandemic levels in the 2021-22 school year, overall public school enrollment remained flat.

These enrollment trends may reflect some of the learning difficulties and health concerns students with disabilities and their families faced during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic , which limited or paused special education services in many school districts.

Many school districts struggle to hire special education professionals. During the 2020-21 school year, 40% of public schools that had a special education teaching vacancy reported that they either found it very difficult to fill the position or were not able to do so.

Foreign languages (43%) and physical sciences (37%) were the only subjects with similarly large shares of hard-to-fill teaching vacancies at public schools that were looking to hire in those fields.

While the COVID-19 pandemic called attention to a nationwide teacher shortage , special education positions have long been among the most difficult for school districts to fill .

The most common type of disability for students in prekindergarten through 12th grade involves “specific learning disabilities,” such as dyslexia.  In 2021-22, about a third of students (32%) receiving services under IDEA had a specific learning disability. Some 19% had a speech or language impairment, while 15% had a chronic or acute health problem that adversely affected their educational performance. Chronic or acute health problems include ailments such as heart conditions, asthma, sickle cell anemia, epilepsy, leukemia and diabetes.

Students with autism made up 12% of the nation’s schoolchildren with disabilities in 2021-22, compared with 1.5% in 2000-01.  During those two decades, the share of disabled students with a specific learning disability, such as dyslexia, declined from 45% to 32%.

The percentage of students receiving special education services varies widely across states. New York serves the largest share of disabled students in the country at 20.5% of its overall public school enrollment. Pennsylvania (20.2%), Maine (20.1%) and Massachusetts (19.3%) serve the next-largest shares. The states serving the lowest shares of disabled students include Texas and Idaho (both 11.7%) and Hawaii (11.3%).

Between the 2000-01 and 2021-22 school years, all but 12 states experienced growth in their disabled student populations. The biggest increase occurred in Utah, where the disabled student population rose by 65%. Rhode Island saw the largest decline of 22%.

These differences by state are likely the result of inconsistencies in how states determine which students are eligible for special education services and challenges in identifying disabled children.

The racial and ethnic makeup of the nation’s special education students is similar to public school students overall, but there are differences by sex.  About two-thirds of disabled students (65%) are male, while 34% are female, according to data from the 2021-22 school year. Overall student enrollment is about evenly split between boys and girls.

Research has shown that decisions about whether to recommend a student for special education may be influenced by their school’s socioeconomic makeup, as well as by the school’s test scores and other academic markers.

Note: This is an update of a post originally published April 23, 2020.

Katherine Schaeffer is a research analyst at Pew Research Center

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27 Eye-Opening Quotes From People With Disabilities

"Stop saying I am inspiring or amazing when I do ordinary things."

We spoke to a variety of people from all over the country who have both visible and invisible disabilities about what they wish people outside the community knew, misconceptions that they encounter and things they wish people would stop doing or saying.

What do you wish people outside the disability community knew or understood?

• “ That having a disability can be a positive part of who you are . My disability has shaped my career and has allowed me to meet so many wonderful people! ” — Arielle Silverman, 39, is blind. She is d irector of research at the American Foundation for the Blind.
• “ Deafness does not prevent people from being successful — discrimination is the main barrier we face.” —Sheryl Emery, 64, is deaf. She is President of National Black Deaf Advocates .
• “ Ableist ideas and beliefs affect people with disabilities in all aspects of life , including employment, healthcare, education, housing, transportation, etc. These ideas and beliefs create systems that discriminate and oppress people with disabilities.” —Theo W. Braddy is paralyzed from the neck down. He is executive director of The National Council on Independent Living .
• “Autism can be an incredibly debilitating disability— there’s an extremely high prevalence of loneliness in the autism community. Individuals with autism die 16 years younger than the average human. 85% of college educated autistics are unemployed. I like to say that with autism I can excel at the extraordinary, but I can really struggle with the simple .”— Russell Lehmann , 33, has autism, OCD, depression and anxiety. He is a speaker, poet and activist.
• “ People with disabilities are just as worthy as those without disabilities to live happy, productive lives.” — Sydney Badeau, 30, has dyspraxia, a nonverbal learning disorder and a sensory processing disorder. She is an advocacy and outreach specialist at The Arc Wisconsin .
• “ Recognizing the importance of accessibility and inclusivity is vital . For example, having ramps and wider doorways not only benefits wheelchair users but also individuals with mild cerebral palsy, who may experience difficulty with coordination or movement on one side of their body. This promotes equality and empathy for everyone. —Ashley Glears, 30, has cerebral palsy with right hemiplegia. She is a chapter associate at The Arc of the United States.
• “It’s important to understand that disability is a natural part of the human experience and that people with disabilities deserve equal rights, opportunities, and respect. I wish people outside the disability community understood the significance of inclusive practices and the value of diverse perspectives in all aspects of life. ” —Dr. Yvette Pegues, Ed.D., 45, has a traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injuries. She is D&I Executive & Chief Diversity Officer at Your Invisible Disability Group.
• “ People with disabilities are individually different from each other . We have different goals and views. We have different approaches to life. We are just human beings who want equal access to reach our different goals.” — Sean Pevsner, 53, has cerebral palsy. He is a law firm partner with Whitburn & Pevsner, PLLC .

What do you wish people outside the disability community would stop doing and/or saying?

• “ I wish they would stop saying I am amazing or inspiring when I do ordinary things. ” — Arielle Silverman
• “ Stop asking Deaf people if we can read your lips. Communication is the responsibility of all parties in a conversation . Asking the Deaf person to read your lips places all the responsibility for communicating on the Deaf person. ” —Sheryl Emery
• “ Stop saying people with disabilities are a vulnerable population. People with disabilities are not weak and fragile - this characterization does more harm than good. ” — Theo W. Braddy
• “I wish people would refrain from making assumptions or judgments about individuals with disabilities based solely on their appearance or perceived limitations. It's important to approach each person with respect, understanding, and open-mindedness.” — Ashley Glears
• “I wish people would stop constantly infantilizing adults with disabilities , especially those who are nonspeaking or minimally speaking.” —Elizabeth "Lizzy" Graham, 34, has Asperger’s/Autism, ADHD, Anxiety with OCD tendencies, eczema and obstructive sleep apnea. She is service coordinator for Medicaid HCBS Waiver Services at The Arc of Prince George's County.
• "I wish people would stop using derogatory terms about people with disabilities and assuming that having a disability means you can't do something. For example, I enjoy 20+ adapted sports and my activity is a form of activism." — Dr. Yvette Pegues
• “People should stop automatically assuming that we are brave for dealing with our disabilities. People should stop considering us vulnerable people who cannot work and contribute to our community.” — Sean Pevsner
• “I wish they would stop making fun of and looking down on people with disabilities. I also wish they would stop treating people with disabilities like children . Often time, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are treated like children. They’re not - they’re adults.” — Melody Cooper, 54, has cerebral palsy and intellectual disability. She is self-advocate specialist at The Arc of Indiana .
• “One thing that I wish people would stop assuming is that people who experience disability are living off the government . This is not the case at all. We need the assistance to live a normal life like everyone else in the world and we are trying to make something for ourselves with the support we have provided to us.” — Ric Nelson, 40, has cerebral palsy. He is an executive director of Peer Power .

What's a misconception people have about you and your abilities?

• “ That I am lacking something or 'living in darkness .' Or that I am perpetually afraid of the world around me just because I can’t see it. My life experience is rich with many other sensations, thoughts and emotions that have nothing to do with vision or lack thereof. ” — Arielle Silverman
• “ There are Deaf people in almost every profession. Don’t assume because a person cannot hear that they are incapable. Not everyone lip reads and we do not have better sight to make up for not being able to hear . We enjoy music, we drive. The biggest barriers we face are attitudes.” —Sheryl Emery
• “ The biggest misconception is they're underestimating me and the 61 million others like me - this comes from a long history of devaluing people like me.” —Theo W. Braddy
• “ Society has taught me from a young age that I can’t show my autism in public . So, a lot of my struggles are in my house, alone. A lot of the struggle is behind the scenes.” — Russell Lehmann
• “One big misconception is that I am not able to follow directions, learn, or be employable . I want to work, so I can be independent and get my own apartment.” —Marcus Stewart, 23, has Down Syndrome.
• “That not everyone with a disability presents in the same way. Some may struggle with something while others may not, and each person may need different or unique accommodations.” — Sydney Badeau

• “One common misconception people have about me and my abilities is assuming that I'm only capable of simple tasks or responses, when in reality, I'm capable of understanding complex concepts and engaging in meaningful conversations across a wide range of topics.” — Ashley Glears
• “I operate at the intersections of a woman of color with visible and non-visible disabilities, so I encounter many layers of misconceptions in my life. Nevertheless, I’m a proud wife, mom, engineer, educator, and advocate. My daily fight for the cessation of stereotypes and stigmatizing language surrounding disability is not for me, but others without the voice to fight for themselves. I wish people understood the innovative contributions that disabled people bring to communities and society .” —Dr. Yvette Pegues
• “ People have the misconception that I cannot represent people in cases . They assume incorrectly that since I have a speech impairment, I cannot argue for my clients’ best interest. It is very tiring to have to constantly prove myself.” — Sean Pevsner
• “People have thought that I would never be anything or do anything, that I don’t know what’s going on in the world. Having an intellectual disability does not mean you’re dumb . They work harder than most just to do things others take for granted. They may need help with certain things, but don’t we all?” — Melody Cooper

Beth (she/her) is the executive editor of Good Housekeeping , where she oversees all print content and manages features, personal essays and special projects for the brand. She is a former executive editor at Woman’s Day and features director at Reader’s Digest and a current adjunct professor at New York University in the School of Professional Studies. As a former college and semi-professional soccer player, she twice had the unfortunate experience of playing against Abby Wambach.

@media(max-width: 64rem){.css-o9j0dn:before{margin-bottom:0.5rem;margin-right:0.625rem;color:#ffffff;width:1.25rem;bottom:-0.2rem;height:1.25rem;content:'_';display:inline-block;position:relative;line-height:1;background-repeat:no-repeat;}.loaded .css-o9j0dn:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/goodhousekeeping/static/images/Clover.5c7a1a0.svg);}}@media(min-width: 48rem){.loaded .css-o9j0dn:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/goodhousekeeping/static/images/Clover.5c7a1a0.svg);}} 100+ Quotes For Any Occasion

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People Are Awesome: Nixa sweeps journalism awards, Herschend honored with donated books

Rural schools awarded cooper grants.

The Community Foundation of the Ozarks, in partnership with the Louis L. and Julia Dorothy Coover Charitable Foundation and Commerce Trust, granted a total of $80,000 to 18 rural school districts.

The recipients of the Coover/Rural Schools Partnership Learning Enhancement Grants are Aurora High School/YEP, Ava R-1 School District, Cabool R-IV, Clinton School District, Crawford County R-1, Fair Play R-II, Gainesville R-V, Glenwood R-8, Howell Valley R-1, Kirbyville R-VI, Lutie R-VI, Marionville R-IX, Marshfield R-1, Mountain Grove R-III, Niangua School District/Niangua TLC, Pleasant Hope R-6, and Richards R-V.

The Coover Foundation, Commerce Trust and the CFO also partner on an annual regional grantmaking program. Recipients of the Coover Regional Vibrant Communities Grants will be announced April 30.

Nixa fifth grader wins art contest

Shah Fender is taking her artwork to the national level. The Nixa fifth grader’s art took first place at the state level and will now represent Missouri in the competition with winners from all 50 states.

The fifth-grade artist is a student at the John Thomas School of Discovery in Nixa, where her art teacher, Matthew Barker, encouraged his students to create posters for the 41st Annual National Missing Children’s Poster Contest.

The contest was open to all fifth graders in the United States.

Nixa sweeps journalism awards

Nixa High School’s journalism department won the top Journalism Sweepstakes award at Missouri Southern State University's Media Showcase event April 10.

The awards are based on student work for the journalism department's four publications: Wingspan magazine, EagleAir TV broadcast news, the Eagle Yearbook and NixaJournalism.net.

First place awards went to the yearbook staff for overall yearbook; Eagle Air staff for You Tube Star; editorial staff for a column entitled AI Requires Careful Use; Olivia McCully for news package for her docudrama Mock Crash; NixaJournalism.net Managing Editor Deliliah Neff for news writing for her article Surviving Without: Homelessness rises in the Ozarks; Maddie McCrea for sportswriting for her article Moving On Up; and Chloe Fischer for sports feature photography for her Season Kickoff photo.

Second place awards went to the staff for its online newspaper and Instagram Royalty; Glennis Woodley and Mira Weiss in news writing for  Politics Gone Viral; Paige Oyler in sports writing for Welcome to the Red Kingdom; Chloe Fischer in feature photography for her skateboarding photo; Laurel Latimer in feature writing for Sugarcoated (Toxic Positivity); and Olivia McCully in news package for Voting.

Third place winners include Maddie McCrea, Chloe Fischer and Glennis Woodley in news writing for AI: A Double-Edged Sword; and Chloe Fischer in feature photography for her Wizard of Oz photo.

WRVEC announces essay winners

White River Valley Electric Cooperative announced the winners of the 2024 Youth Tour essay competition in which three area students will represent WRVEC and travel to Washington, D.C.

The 2024 winners are Bridgette Fitzpatrick (School of the Ozarks), Aven Goodnight (Nixa High School), and Gretchen House (Chadwick High School). The winners were chosen from a group of eleven finalists during WRVEC’s annual Youth Tour banquet held on April 12 at the College of the Ozarks.

The other finalists were Katelyn Allen (Gainesville), Emily Burton (Forsyth), Alexis Combs (Bradleyville), Clara Dean (Branson), Alexander Merrell (Forsyth), Linnea Payne (Lutie), Harley Viall (Hollister), and Asa Wells (Ozark).

High school juniors from participating schools in White River Valley Electric Cooperative’s five-county service area submitted an essay or video that answered the question, “How will the Cooperative Power my Future?”

The three finalists will join more than 2,000 other winners from electric cooperatives across the United States at the Youth Tour in Washington, D.C. June 14-20. In addition, they will receive a $1,500 scholarship from the Operation Round Up Trust Board.

For more information about the Youth Tour program, visit  https://www.whiteriver.org/community/youth-programs/youth-tour/ .

Books donation honors Herschend

On April 9, Silver Dollar City Foundation honored longtime board member Jack Herschend for his years of dedicated service and leadership on the foundation’s board of directors.

The foundation funded the purchase of 14 children and youth books in Herschend’s honor. The collection includes “The Chosen, Volume 1: Called by Name” by Dallas Jenkins; “Daniel and the Very Hungry Lion” by Tim Thornborough; “Dust, Volume 1” by Kara Swanson; “KJV Essential Teen Study Bible”; “Children’s Bible Stories for Bedtime”; and more. These books, each marked with a book plate recognizing Herschend’s tireless service to the community, are available to check out at Library Center of the Ozarks, in downtown Branson.

Silver Dollar City Foundation is a 501(c)3 private foundation and the nonprofit arm of Silver Dollar City. The foundation provides grant funding to 14 school districts serving Stone and Taney county children. Visit SilverDollarCityFoundation.com to learn more.

Disability Prayer Luncheon May 2

Tthe 21st annual Disability Prayer Luncheon will meet at the Community Center at Maranatha Village, 304 W Bethany in Springfield, at 11:30 a.m. May 2.

The event will start with lunch, followed by a devotion. Individuals representing prayer topics such as education, medical care and financial needs will be stationed around the room. Those attending will have the chance to add their own requests. The event will close with prayer at 1 p.m.

The Disability Prayer Luncheon is free and open to the public. There will be an opportunity to give towards the cost of the event.

Phelps County joins Community Foundation

The Phelps County Community Foundation has officially joined the Community Foundation of the Ozarks as its 55th regional affiliate foundation. The PCCF recently completed the steps to become a CFO affiliate and now serves as the philanthropic resource for Rolla and surrounding communities in Phelps County.

The CFO, based in Springfield, will provide administration, fund management, grantmaking support and other services for the PCCF.

Significant support from TKD Foundation, Brewer Science, Southern Bank, Cohen Woodworking, Phelps County Focus, Investment Realty Inc., the Woessner Foundation and other private donors helped raised more than $115,000 for the PCCF’s grantmaking and administration funds.

Marla Stevenson, community bank manager of Southern Bank in Rolla, serves as president of the founding board. Other board members include Ben Tipton, chair elect, president of Phelps County Bank; Richard Cavender, secretary, retired executive director of the Meramec Regional Planning Commission; Kim Day, treasurer, co-founder and president of TKD Foundation; Mike Woessner, president of Investment Realty Inc.; Tracy Jenkins, corporate relations representative at Brewer Science; John Money, senior vice president at Phelps Health; Lorrie Hartley, executive director of TKD Foundation; Nate Cohen, CFO of Cohen Woodworking; Donald Dodd, president of Phelps County Focus and Salem Publishing Co.; and Bonnie Prigge, executive director of Meramec Regional Planning Commission.

Apply now for Student of Ethics Award

Better Business Bureau Springfield is now accepting applicants for this year’s Student of Ethics Award with the opportunity to win a scholarship.

The Student of Ethics Award recognizes an exceptional high school student who demonstrates ethics through leadership, community service, personal integrity and academic achievement. 

Southwest Missouri high school juniors graduating in spring 2025 are eligible to apply for this year’s award. The winner will receive a $2,500 scholarship to the accredited college or trade school of their choice and will be recognized at BBB’s Torch Awards for Ethics banquet in fall 2024.  

To apply, students must submit a copy of their high school transcript, a letter of reference and a 300-word essay. 

Applications are due by May 3. Students may apply online at BBB.org/ s tlsoe or contact BBB Executive Coordinator Chelsey Nolte at 314-584-6737 for more information. 

Apply now for Elevate Rides scooters

Elevate Branson is again offering affordable rides to local employees.

Elevate Rides, featuring MyCityRides Branson, is having its Spring Scooter Spectacular, inviting workers to apply for a reliable and affordable 1659cc motorized scooter, including driver’s training, a helmet, jacket and gloves, regular maintenance and liability insurance and assistance obtaining a Class M endorsement.

Applicants must be employed for at least 30 days and working at least 22 hours a week, insurable and at least 18 years old, and able to open a checking account through First Community Bank o the Ozarks for financing.

Apply at https://elevatebranson.my.salesforce-sites.com/Flyer .