The global slogan for the disability rights movement is Nothing about us without us, which means that people with disabilities should be present, participate, and be included in decisions about them, including the policies that will affect them.
There are many ways for people with disabilities to play a role in developing and enforcing the policies that can affect their daily lives. They may advocate at the local, state, or federal level; work with elected officials on the laws and policies that support and affect people with disabilities, write about their experiences related with policies or the lack of policies related to disabilities; educate themselves on the policies that affect them; and follow developments in policy research, or even participate in this research.
Learning about disability policy is a great way to get started, whether you’re interested in policies in place in your city, county, and state, and on the federal level or on where new policies should be enacted. News articles, webinars, podcasts, and YouTube videos from trusted sources are good sources for information. Tuesdays with Liz from the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) is one example. The video series covers current disability policy issues with experts, policymakers, and elected officials. People with disabilities may attend local town hall or council meetings, in person or online, with local, state, and federal elected officials to listen to their takes on disability policy. Newsletters that discuss disability policy, such as the newsletter from the Disability Policy Consortium, are also good sources to learn about current issues.
People with disabilities may actively participate in disability policymaking in a variety of ways: participating in disability policy research, participating in councils and committees, even contacting their elected officials to discuss new policies and legislation. Currently, NIDILRR funds over 40 research and development projects that look at different aspects of disability policy, including racial and ethnic healthcare disparities among people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, community living equity, parenting with a disability and the child welfare system, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), inclusive employment and much more. NARIC’s Research In Focus series summarizes the latest research from these and other NIDILRR-funded projects in a reader-friendly format. For example, in the article To Improve IDEA, Parents Draw from Experience, researchers asked parents of children with disabilities how the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act could be improved during the reauthorization process. Parents agreed there should be more supports, more specific guidelines about transition planning and documentation, and better definitions of disabilities such as learning disabilities, among other recommendations.
People with disabilities may also participate in committees, councils, and boards that deal with disability policy. For example, the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) is currently seeking young leaders with and without disabilities who are interested in supporting disaster preparedness and making a difference in their communities, including the disability community, locally and nationally. FEMA’s Youth Preparedness Council supports FEMA’s commitment to involve youth in preparedness-related activities and provides these youths with an opportunity to present their perspectives and feedback to FEMA staff. FEMA will host two webinars on January 30th and February 28th at 8 pm ET where participants will learn more about the application process, gather tips for success, and hear from current and past Council members about their experience.
To learn about opportunities to participate in disability policy research from NIDILRR-funded projects, subscribe to NARIC’s News and Notes from the NIDILRR Community and Beyond, where NARIC staff share such opportunities every week. Contact NARIC’s information specialists to learn more about how to participate in disability policymaking.
