“More than 1 in 4 adults in the United States—over 70 million people—have a disability,” reports The Arc, a national organization that advocates for individuals and families who experience intellectual and developmental disabilities. Disability Pride Month, The Arc states, exists to encourage inclusion and make sure that those of us with disabilities are accepted exactly as we are, unconditionally.
The Arc’s National Council of Self-Advocates (NCSA), a disabled-led national council, has announced the 2026 Disability Pride Month theme: “The World Works Better with Us.”
The Disability Action Centers of the Northwest (DAC NW) and of North East Washington-Spokane (DAC NEW), will host a festivity for Disability Pride on July 25th in Riverfront Park, from 11 AM-3 PM. The “Building Bridges” event spotlights the Americans with Disabilities Act and will feature resource booths, live entertainment, a kid’s area, free food, and more. You can learn more about the event on the DAC NW website.
As the Americans with Disability Act says, “Disability rights are civil rights.”
Speaking of her commitment to activism even in the face of a progressive loss of mobility, writer Alice Wong says in an NPR interview, “A lot of my disabled friends and I feel our mortality intensely. Many middle-aged disabled people are considered elders in our community because of preventable deaths and marginalization. There are too many of us who should be alive today, if they weren’t forced to live in poverty to keep their benefits, institutionalized or incarcerated in prisons and psychiatric facilities. Imagine a world if everyone had food, housing, healthcare, and freedom. This is what drives much of what I do, letting people know that another way is possible.”
Check out Alice Wong’s Disability Visibility Project, which narrates and amplifies the experience of people with disabilities. And check out the titles below from our libraries, also by and about the differently abled.
Books for Youth
Every body move! words by Jenna Elyse Johnson, art by Ananya Rao-Middleton, sung by Audra Mariel
“A celebration of the ways we dance, explore, and thrive. Centering both movement and disability, this picture book feels like it’s in constant motion. Each turn of the page reveals a different type of mobility tool, from canes of all sorts (“chunky canes, skinny canes, / swinging-back-and-forth canes, / TIPPIN’, TAPPIN’, TWIRLIN’ canes”) to walkers…” – Kirkus Reviews
The Girl Who Figured It Out, by Minda Dentler, pictured by Stephanie Dehennin
The uplifting true story of Minda Dentler, the first female wheelchair athlete to complete the Ironman World Championship triathlon.
You’re so amazing! by James and Lucy Catchpole, illustrated by Karen George
“In this follow-up to What Happened to You? (2023), Joe, who’s missing a leg, contends with scrutiny. Joe is amazing. Everybody says so—whether he’s hanging on the monkey bars, eating ice cream, or even scratching his bottom. Joe thinks that speedy, athletic Simone is amazing, but onlookers only ever compliment Joe.” – Kirkus Reviews
We Move Together by Kelly Fritsch Anne McGuire, illustrated by Eduardo Trejos
A bold and colorful exploration of all the ways that people navigate through the spaces around them, and a celebration of the relationships we build along the way. We Move Together follows a mixed-ability group of kids as they creatively negotiate everyday barriers, and find joy and connection in disability culture and community. A perfect tool for families, schools, and libraries to facilitate conversations about disability, accessibility, social justice, and community building. Includes a kid-friendly glossary.
We Are the Scrappy Ones, words by Rebekah Taussig ; pictures by Kirbi Fagan
Children with disabilities celebrate all bodies and minds in this anthem of self-affirmation and belonging.
Whale Eyes: A Memoir about Seeing and Being Seen by James Robinson, illustrated Brian Rea
“In this memoir, an outgrowth of his documentary of the same title, Emmy-winning filmmaker Robinson recounts how he changed others’ perceptions of his disability. Born with anomalous retinal correspondence, a form of strabismus that prevents his eyes from focusing simultaneously, Robinson found reading a time-consuming “obstacle course.”’ – Kirkus Reviews
Out of My Dreams by Sharon M. Draper
Chosen to be a U.S. spokesperson at an international symposium for kids with different abilities, Melody arrives in London where she meets like-minded kids who want to make the world more equal, no matter the unusual challenges they face, and hopes her words can make an impact.
Books for Adults
Upward Bound: A Novel by Woody Brown
Upward Bound is not a place anyone dreams of spending their days. The dreary adult daycare center for Los Angeles’s disabled community is, for many of its clients and staff, a place of last resort. Framing interlocking narratives—and connecting them in surprising, shattering ways—is the riveting and sometimes ironic testimony of Walter, a recent community college graduate who, after a family tragedy, must return to the company of his disabled peers.
Silent No Longer: Advancing the Fight for Disability Rights by Robert Stack
Silent No Longer is the story of Robert Stack’s forty-year career in the disability industry, revealing the horrible neglect that persists today and asking why tens of thousands of people are still unnecessarily incarcerated in institutions that fail them.
Unfit Parent: A Disabled Mother Challenges an Inaccessible World by Jessica Slice
Navigating the joys, stigma, and discrimination of disabled parenting-and how the solutions offered by disability culture can transform the way we all raise our kids.
Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century, edited by Alice Wong
According to the last census, one in five people in the United States lives with a disability. Some are visible, some are hidden—but all are underrepresented in media and popular culture. Now, just in time for the thirtieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, activist Alice Wong brings together an urgent, galvanizing collection of personal essays by contemporary disabled writers.
Connecting Dots: A Blind Life, a memoir by Joshua A Miele with Wendell Jamieson
In “Connecting Dots” —a reference to braille and a metaphor for Miele’s explorations and discoveries—readers are treated to a memoir that is as illuminating as it is entertaining, and ultimately as triumphant as they come: in 2022, Miele fulfilled a nearly lifelong dream when he won a MacArthur genius Grant. “Connecting Dots” comes at a time when disability is finally starting to get the recognition (and legislation) that it deserves, and entering the popular culture in a huge way, from Coda to Crip Camp and beyond.
Beautiful People: My Thirteen Truths about Disability by Melissa Blake
Well-known disability activist and social media influencer Melissa Blake offers a frank, illuminating memoir and a call to action for disabled people and allies.
Tiffany Yu takes readers on a revelatory examination of disability — how to unpack biases and build an inclusive and accessible world. As the Asian American daughter of immigrants, living with PTSD, and sustaining a permanent arm injury at age nine, Tiffany Yu is well aware of the intersections of identity that affect us all.
Hunchback: A Novel by Saou Ichikawa, translated by Polly Barton
Born with a congenital muscle disorder, Shaka spends her days in her room in a care home outside Tokyo, relying on an electric wheelchair to get around and a ventilator to breathe. But if Shaka’s physical life is limited, her quick, mischievous mind has no boundaries: she takes e-learning courses on her iPad, publishes explicit fantasies on websites, and anonymously troll-tweets to see if anyone is paying attention…Formally creative and refreshingly unsentimental, Hunchback depicts the joy, anger, and desires of a woman demanding autonomy in a world that doesn’t always always grant it to people like her. Full of wit, bite, and heart, this unforgettable novel reminds us all of the full potential of our lives, no matter the limitations we experience.
Out on a Limb: A Novel by Hannah Bonham-Young
Winnifred “Win” McNulty has always been wildly independent and not one to be coddled for her limb difference. Win has spent most of her life trying to prove that she can do it all on her own. With some minor adjustments, she’s done just fine. Then a one-night stand at a costume party with the incredibly charming Bo changes everything. Win finds herself pregnant–and decides to keep it. While Bo is surprisingly elated to step up to the plate, Win is unsure of whether she can handle this new challenge. Together, Win and Bo decide to get to know one another as friends and nothing more while they embark on this parenting journey together. But, as they both should know by now, life rarely goes according to plan.
