The background of Disability Pride Month – why, what, when?   

What is Disability Pride Month?

Disability Pride Month happens every year in July to promote awareness about people with disability. It is a month to also celebrate the individual disability’s identity and be proud of it.

This event was created to celebrate the passing of the ‘Americans with Disabilities Act’ in July 1990 in the USA. It made discrimination against people with a disability illegal in the USA.

The Disability Pride Month has its own flag, with its own meaning behind it. The five-flag colour represents:  

Green – Invisible and undiagnosed disabilities

Blue – Mental illness

White – Sensory disabilities

Yellow – Neurodiversity and development disabilities

Red – Physical disabilities

The diagonal line represents the cutting though the barriers people with disabilities face. This is to contrast the straight line from keeping the disability community isolated. The black background which represents the people with disabilities who have died due to ableism, violence, negligence, suicide, illness, and any other reason.

What about the other gold, silver, and bronze flag disability flag?

This meant to represent the disability community across the year, but I feel this does not represent the whole community. The reason is that these colours are heavily related to sport and not everyone with a disability what to do a sport. This is one of biggest stereotype and assumption we have in society.  

How can you play your part in advocating for people with disabilities?

• Listen to what we have to say. We all have something unique and interesting to say.
• Stand up for what is right – when you hear someone harassing and bullying a person with a disability, stand up and stop it.
• Stop with the assumption – one of the common ones is “You don’t need the accessible room/toilet/parking because you are not in a wheelchair.” Face palm right there, there are a group of us still need accessible features or are limited in their mobility.
• Ask questions respectfully – do not be afraid to ask a question but please be respectful if we do not want to answer your question. Not everyone feels comfortable answering questions about their disability.

  Happy disability pride month!

  Bio

  Nicholas Lapsley is a 22-year-old aspiring entrepreneur and disability advocate. He works for Cerebral Palsy Alliance’s Marketing & Communications team and is an active member of CPActive, where he campaigns for equality for people with cerebral palsy and other disabilities.