This Disability Pride Month, we recognize the many contributions those with disabilities have made to the Notre Dame community.
About the observance
Disability Pride Month takes place every July to honor the contributions, achievements, and resilience of people with disabilities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines a disability as any condition of the body or mind that makes it more difficult for the person with the condition to do certain activities and interact with the world around them. More than one in four U.S. adults have some type of disability, according to the CDC.
The first large-scale Disability Pride celebration in the United States was a Disability Pride Day in Boston in 1990. Chicago hosted the first Disability Pride Parade in 2004. In 2015, the monthlong nationwide commemoration began in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA, signed into law on July 26, 1990, by U.S. President George H.W. Bush, prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in many areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and many public and private places that are open to the general public.
Notre Dame news and media
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Who is development for? Disability, memory and justice in Chile (April 2026)
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Canvas accessibility as a course theme (April 2026)
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Responding to the call for digital accessibility in higher education (March 2026)
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Timothy Shriver, chairman of Special Olympics, to receive 2026 Laetare Medal (March 2026)
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Theatre historian honored for work that highlights the hidden stories of disability arts (December 2025)
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Event Recap–Disability Arts & Culture: An Evening with Rosemarie Garland Thomson (November 2025)
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Affirmations of disability identity in early modern England (February 2025)
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Special Education Law Clinic launched to support families of children with disabilities (January 2025)
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AccessABLE club supports and advocates for disabled students (November 2024)
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What is ableism? And how can it be unlearned? (July 2024)
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A mission-driven approach to improving accessibility (July 2024)
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With NIH grant, American studies professor spotlights experiences of disabled people in early U.S. history (April 2024)
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In Communion: Advancing the Full Participation of Persons with Disabilities in the Church (Spring 2024)
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Using patients’ own cells, researchers examine connection between fragile X syndrome, intellectual disability (November 2023)
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NDLA Board honors Vietnam veteran John Lancaster ’67, ’74 J.D. for contributions to disability rights (April 2023)
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Count Me In Campaign encourages employees to self-identify disability status (March 2023)
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Pioneering disability rights (Winter 2016-2017)
Notre Dame units, departments, and organizations
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Disability Studies (College of Arts and Letters)
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Department of Disability Advocacy (Student Government)
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Active Minds at Notre Dame student club
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ProfouND employee resource group
Additional resources
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Disability Pride Month 2026: What it is, the 2026 theme, and how to celebrate (The Arc)
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Disability Pride Month: Acknowledging our history, value, rights, and justice (Center for People with Disabilities)
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What do the colors on the Disability Pride flag mean? (Good Housekeeping)
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What NPR readers want you to know about living with a disability (NPR)
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Disability Pride: Expanding the meaning of independence (Psychology Today)
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VIDEO—Change, Not Charity: The Americans with Disabilities Act (PBS)
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Disability Visibility Project podcast (disabilityvisibilityproject.com)
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Celebrate Disability Pride Month and with these books that put representation first (USA Today)
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8 books for young readers to celebrate Disability Pride Month (People)
Originally published by at weareall.nd.edu on July 01, 2026.