Taking Back My Life: A Journey from Control to Freedom is a powerful firsthand account by Mary Azatyan-Witmeyer, a Blind woman whose early adulthood was shaped not by opportunity, but by legal and societal barriers rooted in systemic ableism. At the age of eighteen, Mary was forced into a conservatorship by her adoptive mother, despite her clear desire and ability to make her own decisions. This legal control—enabled by harmful assumptions about her blindness—stripped her of agency over her healthcare, finances, education, and even her housing. This unjust reality reflects a widespread…

Alice Wong died in San Francisco on Nov. 14 at age 51. The remembrance opens with her pairing of anger and love—quoting her final message to the community—and follows how readers recognized their own rage during COVID disruptions and chronic pain. Staying with Wong’s words (“I feel very alone w/ so much rage”), the piece treats anger as truthful and connective, a force that moves people out of isolation and toward collective care. The essay then grounds that feeling in her life story: born in 1974 in Indianapolis to Hong Kong immigrants; an early diagnosis with a form of muscular dystrophy…

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 1 in 4 adults (28.7 percent) in the United States have some type of disability. They are our neighbors, coworkers, family members, and friends. Every gathering, class, and conversation in our communities is an opportunity to welcome them, to learn from them, and to build together. Community Building In neighborhoods and villages around the world, Bahá’ís and their friends take part in four core activities: children’s classes, spiritual empowerment programmes for young people, devotional gatherings, and circles of study…

The Paraorchestra, founded by Charles Hazlewood in 2011, is reshaping the orchestral landscape by removing barriers that prevent musicians with disabilities from participating in large-scale professional ensembles. Recognized with the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) Ensemble Award, this groundbreaking group is a testament to what happens when accessibility and inclusion are prioritized in the arts. By integrating assistive technology, redefining traditional performance spaces, and fostering an environment where musicians with disabilities thrive alongside their non-disabled…

Students with Disabilities were promised a full public education more than fifty years ago, that promise has never been kept, their assessments go unfinished and their Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) go uncarried out, and the protections available to them vary so dramatically by location that access to a full education has become a matter of geography. Community Builders carry a collective obligation to remove the barriers that block Students with Disabilities from full participation in their own education, treating that responsibility not as charity but as a shared commitment woven into every decision.

Gary Wunder argues that the familiar rule of treating others as you would wish to be treated reaches its limit the moment a sighted person pictures blindness from the outside and acts on that picture, grabbing an arm, ordering a meal, or keeping back information a Blind person should have had. The rule he offers alongside it, treating people the way they say they wish to be treated, calls for asking rather than presuming, and it matters far beyond courtesy, because schools that spare Blind students the work classmates receive, employers who read blindness as incapacity, agencies that leave Blind People reliant on them, and companies that ship products no Blind person can operate all cause real damage while believing themselves reasonable. Wunder's answer is that Blind People belong at the center of every decision about their own lives, and Community Builders meet that obligation by treating inclusion and accessibility as shared responsibilities carried out in consultation with People with Disabilities rather than delivered to them.

Disability advocates have fought to break down barriers, to be seen, valued, and included—not as a charity case, not as a box to be ticked, but as equal contributors to society. There are 8 billion people on this planet—more than 1.3 billion of them are People with Disabilities. People with Disabilities are not a minority. When inclusion policies were first introduced, they were meant to level the playing field—to recognize marginalized communities and create opportunities that had long been denied. But somewhere along the way, the process became diluted.

Listen Now: Disability Pride Mid-Michigan

Disability Pride Month traces back to Ed Roberts, who became the first Student with a Disability to attend the University of California Berkeley and founded the first Center for Independent Living, yet one in four American adults has a disability and belonging is still withheld. A Center for Independent Living covering twelve counties in mid Michigan, funded under Title VII of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, moves people out of nursing facilities and into their own homes through peer mentoring and choices the person makes. The Americans with Disabilities Act sets only a minimum, while Universal Design removes barriers at the drawing board with entrances that have no step and restrooms holding an adult changing table. Now the reinterpreted Olmstead integration mandate and Medicaid cuts threaten the home and community based services that keep People with Disabilities out of institutions, which is why the article closes by telling us to get informed, call our legislators, put Universal Design to work, and invite a Person with a Disability into the conversation.

Editor’s Note: Can you identify what community barriers need to be removed so this type of action should not be necessary? The article explains why a reliable, wheelchair-accessible vehicle is pivotal for residents in a community home, emphasizing that transportation is not a luxury but a daily necessity for appointments, work, and maintaining social ties. It describes how the organization is working toward acquiring an accessible van, outlining the day-to-day coordination required when rides fall through and how gaps in service can derail medical care or participation in community life…

Natalie Green, a 25-year-old advocate who has cerebral palsy, epilepsy and an intellectual delay, writes ahead of Utah’s Dignity Leadership Summit after asking 15 Utahns with connections to IDD what inclusion means to them. She frames inclusion as belonging and participation across daily life — from schools and workplaces to inclusive events — and shares where readers can find the full set of responses. Voices from Special Olympics athletes and coaches emphasize that inclusion is not token attendance but meaningful roles, leadership and friendship. Kyle “Pickles” Karren points to chances to…

Disability awareness should extend beyond a single month, week, or day on the calendar. While Disability Pride Month in July highlights the importance of recognizing People with Disabilities, true inclusion requires daily efforts in removing barriers that prevent us from building Vibrant, Diverse, Inclusive, Accessible Communities! Our community-building initiatives should ensure that accessibility and inclusion are not mere checkboxes but are ingrained in every aspect of our communities. Acknowledging that the well-being of People with Disabilities is a collective responsibility demands…