Celebrating the International Day of Persons with Disabilities

 

ACL joins President Obama and communities around the world in observing the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The United Nations General Assembly first proclaimed this day in 1992 to promote action and raise awareness about disability issues and draw attention to the benefits of an inclusive and accessible society for people of all abilities.

This year’s theme is “Inclusion Matters: access and empowerment for people of all abilities.” Around the world, people with disabilities face far too many physical, social, and attitudinal barriers that prevent them from fully participating and thriving in the community. The obstacle can be an inaccessible building, a discriminatory law, abuse or neglect, or the expectation of failure.

Over the past year, ACL Administrator Kathy Greenlee has joined colleagues from the Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development to bring attention to the barriers faced by people with disabilities across the lifespan globally at international meetings including the 70th United Nations General Assembly and the 59th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.
And every day, ACL-funded programs seek to remove barriers and promote inclusion for people with disabilities of all ages in the United States.

These include programs that:

• Promote independent living for people with disabilities.
• Investigate suspected abuse and neglect and provide legal advocacy services for people with disabilities.
• Increase access to assistive technology for people with disability.
• Empower people with developmental disabilities and their families to become leaders actively helping to make systems more effective and efficient.
• Conduct and put into practice cutting-edge research on disability, rehabilitation, and independent living.