(BALTIMORE – July 26, 2026) – Happy Disability Pride Month and the 36th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)! Pride means naming disability out loud and with dignity. Disability should not be a source of shame or stigma. Naming disability gives a person the language to describe how they move through the world and to ask for the access they need to reach their full potential.
Lately, I’ve had a lot of conversations with people about what it means for children to reach their full potential in the context of disability. Stigma around disability runs deep in communities and families. I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard parents hope and pray their kids will “grow out” of their disabilities or fear for their children’s future.
I believe we can move past that discomfort with love and reimagine broader community support, especially in education. The first step is to accept the language. All of us will need accessibility and support at some time in our lives, through injury or simply as we age. So picture a world where the word disability carries so little shame that people in our communities can advocate for themselves openly and with the support of those around them. That world is gentler for everyone, and it starts with us refusing to treat the word disability as an insult.
More conversations lead more people to solutions. Too many of us carry disabilities that go unsupported simply because we cannot reach the right resources. The rest of us stay on the sidelines, unsure what to do. That is exactly why we need to have more honest and judgement-free conversations about disability.
Imagine kitchen table conversations where we trade the name of a good clinic, tell our stories as caregivers, and walk each other through the systems that keep our families well. We already do this with dentists and specialists. Disability and mental health are no different. These are basic needs for a person and for a whole community. Black moms raising autistic children already carry this work, listening to the parts only they understand and moving autism acceptance forward while sharing what they know with other moms.
When we center the experiences of disabled kids in our schools, everyone receives a better education. Imagine every student with an individualized education plan as the norm rather than the exception. Imagine if disability knowledge lived with every teacher, not just a handful of specialists. Imagine if every teacher understood disability and neurodivergence deeply enough to adapt for every child. That would mean less of the tireless, siloed advocacy we lean on now, the IEP meetings, the disability consultants, the parent advocacy groups. It would mean parents no longer working ten times as hard for care and inclusion for their children.
Much of what we now take for granted exists because disability advocates put their stories and their bodies on the line, showing how many barriers stand between a disabled person and simply living in the world. We get to build on that. Disability touches every family, and every community, and a world that welcomes disabled people is a better world for all of us.
I believe the dream is simple and achievable. We should dream that our kids grow up so accepting and aware of disability that no disabled child or their families ever have to advocate alone.
Disability Resource Guide
If you want to keep learning or find support, here are organizations and people doing this work. It starts with services here in Maryland, then turns to a special focus on Black disabled voices, history, and community.
Special Education Citizens’ Advisory Committee (SECAC) is a group of families and community members that advises Baltimore City Public Schools on special education. It is a way for parents of students with disabilities in Baltimore to get involved, ask questions, and help shape how services work.
Special Education State Advisory Committee (SESAC) advises the Maryland State Department of Education on special education and related services for children with disabilities from age three through 21. Most of its members are disabled people or parents of students with disabilities, and its meetings are open to the public with time for comment.
Maryland Division of Rehabilitation Services (DORS) is a state agency, part of the Maryland State Department of Education, that helps Marylanders with disabilities go to work and live independently. Its services include vocational rehabilitation, independent living support, assistive technology, and specialized programs for students, autism, blindness and low vision, and Marylanders who are deaf or hard of hearing.
National Black Disability Coalition organizes with and for Black disabled people and their families, offering resources, Black disability history, scholarships, legal consultations, and self-care programs.
Afromations is the coalition’s collection of affirmations and gratitude from the community, celebrating Black disabled people and the work they carry.
Black, Disabled, and Proud is a guide for Black disabled college students and their families, with tip sheets, campus resources, and encouragement, created by the HBCU Disability Consortium and AHEAD.
HBCU Disability Consortium focuses on culturally responsive disability services at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and shares first-person stories and information on race and disability.
Disability Visibility Project is Alice Wong’s project creating, sharing, and amplifying disability media and culture through oral histories, essays, and a podcast.
Black Disability History: Past, Present, Future is a piece from the American Association of People with Disabilities on the history and legacy of Black disabled people and leaders.
10 Black Disability Rights Leaders Who Shape Disability Justice is a list from United Cerebral Palsy introducing leaders who have shaped the movement.
