July is DISABILITY PRIDE Month

It’s another year and another DISABILITY PRIDE MONTH Last year was the first time I came across Disability Pride Month, so I created a blog post and some infographics in the hopes that this information will be easily shared and accessible so we can raise some more awareness. But this year I wanted to update the infographics and add some extra information!

Let’s start with the basics…

When is Disability Pride Month? And how did it start?

Disability Pride Month began with the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990. And now July is home to Disability Pride Month, although disability pride day has been around since 1990 there is still limited publicity and attention around it.

Why does EVERYONE need to be involved in and aware of Disability Pride Month?

1.3 billion people worldwide live with a disability, that is equivalent to 1 in 6 people. Also, many disabilities are invisible, which is why education and awareness are so important. 90% of people living with disability in Australia have an invisible disability.

Unlike other minorities, everyone has a chance to be affected by disability at some point in their life (i.e. illness, accidents, aging etc). Also, the likelihood of living with disability increases with age. As 26.9% of people aged 60-64 years are living with disability. Over 8 in 10 people aged 90 and over (84.6%) have a disability.

WHY do we have Disability Pride Month?

The simple answer as to why we have and need Disability Pride Month is… because ableism is heavily ingrained in modern society. The first step to making change is awareness and education about ableism.

A brief explanation of ableism: ableism is the assumption that typical abilities are better than disabilities and that people with disabilities are ‘less than’, burdensome and require ‘fixing’. (if you want to learn more check out my other post on ableism). *be aware unconscious ableism is extremely common.

What is Disability Pride Month about?

embracing life
reclaiming a sense of identity
promoting inclusivity
redefining the power dynamic that is shaping our society
reducing stigma
highlighting the importance of diverse communities

I came across an amazing article by Caroline Casey where they describe and sum up what disability pride means so well when stating: “we are proud because of who we are, and that pride doesn’t depend on meeting anyone’s benchmarks for how ‘successful’ or ‘normal’ we might appear to be.”

Disability Pride Flag by Ann Magill

*Important* in 2021 we got an updated flag — where possible please use the NEW flag because the old saturated ‘lightning bolt’ flag may cause a strobe/flicker effect when scrolled on electronic devices, and can be a trigger for seizure, migraines, disorientation and other types of eye strain.

Each colour symbolizes a different part of the disability community:

RED: physical disabilities
BLUE: mental illness/psychiatric disabilities
BLACK: represents the disabled people who have experienced ableist violence and abuse, as well as those who have lost their lives due not only to their illness, but also to negligence, suicide and eugenics.
YELLOW: neurodiversity, cognitive and intellectual disabilities
WHITE: invisible and undiagnosed disabilities
GREEN: sensory perception disabilities