Embracing Disability Pride and the Promise of the ADA

July is a month rich with celebration and reflection. From barbecues and fireworks to quiet moments of remembrance, July invites us to celebrate courage, resilience, and the various milestones that shape our shared experience. This July, we celebrate the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as well as the 10th anniversary of Disability Pride Month.

Signed into law on July 26, 1990, the ADA is one of the most significant civil rights laws in U.S. history, ensuring equal opportunity and access for individuals with disabilities. The ADA set forth a new social contract: that people with disabilities are not to be segregated, excluded, or left behind, but fully included in the social and civic fabric of American life. That same year, the first Disability Pride Day was established. In 2015, in honor of the ADA’s 25th anniversary, the first Disability Pride Month was commemorated. The celebration reflects a commitment not just to overcome disability, but to embrace it and affirm that disability is a valuable part of human diversity.

As the U.S. population ages, the ADA is increasingly becoming an aging law, not just a disability law. For millions of people, challenges associated with aging are their first encounter with accessibility barriers, mobility limitations, and even vision or hearing loss. Since the ADA is grounded in civil rights, its protections apply regardless of age or insurance status. That makes it a powerful framework for aging Americans who may suddenly find themselves needing accommodations, whether it is a quieter work environment due to hearing loss, digital interfaces with higher contrast for failing vision, or step-free entryways for arthritic joints.

Older adults are also often impacted by hidden disabilities such as mild cognitive impairment, depression, and even chronic fatigue. Yet many hesitate to self-identify or seek accommodations, fearing stigma or being unfamiliar with their rights. The ADA offers both legal footing and cultural permission to ask for what is needed.

Personally, I never envisioned that I would become an advocate, but when I found myself as the caretaker for both my adult daughter who has an intellectual disability as well as my aging mother, I realized the power of this law. When my daughter was younger, both the ADA and the earlier Individuals with Disabilities Education Act allowed her to attend school with her peers rather than be isolated from them like many who came before her. She also benefited from assistive technologies that aided in her cognitive growth. Now, as an adult, she is afforded protection against job discrimination due to her disability as well as reasonable accommodation as she needs. For my mother, the physical environment is much more enjoyable due to accessible entrances, curb cuts in sidewalks, and even closed captioning on television.

I see the ADA as not just a policy, but rather a promise. It is a promise that society will not retreat into the exclusion of those with disabilities but rather move forward with intentional inclusion and celebration of self-worth, community, and visibility. I have heard it said from those in the disability community that the ADA is not just about “ramps and regulations,” but about “allowing us to live both fully and freely, without apology.”

Joel Domingo is Dean of the Research Institute and Director of Research and Professor at City University of Seattle, where he leads the university’s overall scholarship and research objectives. His work focuses on leadership development and civic capacity building for creating social transformation in the public and community nonprofit spheres.