Disability Awareness Is Not a Moment, It's a Movement
Image: A man who is a wheelchair user speaks into a microphone at a community forum.
Every July, Disability Pride Month invites us to pause, reflect, and celebrate the strength, diversity, and leadership of people with disabilities. Even as we honor how far we’ve come, we recognize that barriers still remain, not just in buildings and policies, but in attitudes, language, and everyday interactions. That’s why this month, we’re taking a closer look at disability awareness: what it really means, why it matters, and how it can serve as a catalyst for meaningful inclusion in every part of society, from classrooms and clinics to boardrooms and city planning.
Disability is a natural part of the human experience that spans every age, culture, and community. It encompasses a broad spectrum of physical, cognitive, sensory, mental health, and other conditions that inform how people live and navigate life.. Disability is not a deficit, but rather a kind of diversity that brings valuable perspectives, creativity, and resilience to our collective story.
Disability awareness is the ongoing effort to champion the ideas of inclusion and acceptance - recognizing the presence, contributions, and rights of people with disabilities as a foundational aspect of designing a more inclusive society. Disability awareness challenges outdated assumptions, reimagines access, and invites all of us to build environments where everyone can participate fully, with dignity and autonomy.
At its core, disability awareness is not just about knowing that discrimination exists. It’s about actively challenging it through education, language, design, and human connection. And further, promoting changes in policies and attitudes that increase inclusion, acceptance, and diversity.
Disability Is Not One Thing. It Is Many.
Image: A blind man is pictured, showing his left profile.
When people hear the word “disability,” many still picture a person using a wheelchair or an individual with Down Syndrome. However, disabilities encompass a wide and diverse range of experiences that range from physical, cognitive, sensory, developmental, mental health, chronic illness, and more. Some disabilities are visible. Many disabilities are invisible, often making it hard for others to accept what they cannot see. Some disabilities are lifelong; others are acquired through injury or illness. Disabilities don’t discriminate; they present in people from every part of society - rich, poor, all races, genders, and beliefs. When we acknowledge this, it’s harder to compartmentalize and discriminate against people with disabilities. It becomes clear that every individual with a disability carries their own story, shaped by culture, community, and circumstance.
Awareness also means understanding that two people with the same diagnosis may have entirely different needs. It means recognizing that disability is not always the hardest part of someone’s life. More often, greater challenges come from how society responds to them, with barriers, biases, or silence.
Language Matters. So Does Respect.
One of the simplest and most powerful tools of awareness is language. Many advocates prefer person-first language: “a person with a disability,” rather than “a disabled person.” The difference may seem subtle, but its impact is not. It centers the individual, not the condition.
Image: A person who is a wheelchair user sits at an office table with two co-workers.
Disability awareness also involves shifting how we speak, act, and engage in everyday moments. It means addressing people directly, not speaking over or around them. It means respecting personal space and assistive devices. It means recognizing that someone using a mobility aid is not “confined” by it; they’re empowered by it. It’s not about feeling sorry for someone, it’s about making space for them to participate fully.
For example, instead of asking a companion, “What does she want to drink?” when a person with a communication device is present, you can ask the individual directly and give them time to respond. Instead of saying someone “suffers from” a condition, say they “live with” it. Instead of using euphemisms like “handi-capable” or “differently abled,” use straightforward, respectful terms like “person with a disability” unless someone states a personal preference.
Respect also means avoiding assumptions, such as grabbing someone’s wheelchair handles without permission or petting a service dog in a harness. These actions may seem friendly, but they can undermine autonomy and focus. Always ask before offering help, and accept “no” as a valid answer.
Respect also includes seeing the person beyond the label. Far too often, disability is portrayed as a deficit. But people with disabilities are artists, teachers, engineers, entrepreneurs, parents, athletes, and leaders. Awareness invites us to widen the lens and focus on individuals’ strengths, skills, and contributions...
Access Is a Justice Issue
Disability is not inherently limiting. What limits people are the systems that were not built with access in mind. Stairs without ramps. Websites without captions. Policies that favor an idea of “normal,” serving the few, and creating barriers for many others.
Access to buildings, services, information, and more should be more than an accommodation; it should be a fundamental human right. When we design with access for everyone in mind, we create environments that benefit everyone, not just people with disabilities.
It means making space for ramps, for screen readers, for quiet rooms, for alternative formats, for different ways of moving and communicating and being in the world. Because the world is richer when everyone is in the room.
Disability Awareness Is Action
Disability awareness, when practiced fully, leads to change. Some examples are:
Inclusive schools that celebrate neurodiversity. If you're an educator or parent, you can advocate for sensory-friendly spaces, support inclusive teaching practices like Universal Design for Learning (UDL), or invite speakers with disabilities to share their lived experiences during Disability Awareness events.
Workplaces that invest in accessible hiring and adaptive tools. If you’re a hiring manager, review job postings for accessibility. Advocate for captioned trainings, adaptive equipment, or quiet spaces in the office. If you’re a team member, ensure meetings are inclusive by asking, “Is this format accessible for everyone?”
Cities that design public spaces for every kind of body and mind. You can attend town hall meetings and ask: Are our sidewalks, transit systems, and public buildings accessible? Volunteer to be part of an accessibility audit or community advisory group. Support funding for accessible infrastructure.
Healthcare systems that listen, adapt, and serve equitably. If you work in healthcare, participate in disability competency training. Encourage your organization to provide accessible exam tables, communication tools, and intake forms. As a patient or caregiver, share feedback that improves care access.
Media that reflects the complexity and brilliance of the lives that people with disabilities lead. As a content creator, journalist, or educator, include authentic representation. Use respectful, person-first language. Share stories by people with disabilities—not just about them—and follow their lead on how they want to be represented.
Disability awareness also means supporting people with disabilities to speak for themselves, shape policy, and lead. You can amplify their voices by hiring them, electing them, inviting them onto panels, citing their work, and listening without interruption. You can make space—and when needed, step aside.
This Is a Cultural Shift. And It’s Happening.
Across the country, and right here in Colorado, disability awareness campaigns are gaining momentum. Storytelling is emerging as a powerful bridge.
Image: A CPWD Boulder Peer Support Group is pictured outside
CPWD’s own Peer Support Groups, where individuals share their lived experiences, find community, and build confidence to engage fully in public life. Studies show that more than 70% of participants say peer storytelling helped them tackle challenges with new resilience.
In the Denver Metro, Phamaly Theatre Company, a nationally recognized troupe created by and for actors with disabilities, continues to reshape cultural narratives. Their award-winning productions, ranging from revivals of classics like Guys and Dolls to original works, place actors with disabilities center stage and confront audiences with new, inclusive storytelling.
BEAM + Stories, a Denver-based project, is a short film series that centers the voices of leaders, artists, and advocates with disabilities, sharing their lived experiences through powerful, community-nominated stories. The sensory-friendly showcase invited attendees to meet the filmmakers and engage in community conversation, turning personal narratives into collective awareness.
These storytelling initiatives don’t present disability as a challenge to be overcome, but instead, they reveal what it means to live fully in a world full of barriers and challenges. Whether through film, community events, or shared dialogue, these narratives shift public understanding and pave the way for deeper cultural change.
We are beginning to see disability not just as a legal category or a medical diagnosis, but as a culture, an identity, and a source of community pride. Disability Pride Month in July celebrates this shift by lifting up the creativity, leadership, and joy of people with disabilities, while pushing for deeper systemic change.
The Work Is Ongoing
Disability awareness is not a checklist. It is not a one-time training. It is a daily practice, a way of moving through the world with more empathy, more curiosity, and more courage. It asks us to examine our assumptions and listen deeply. Through awareness, we invite different perspectives into the conversation. And to recognize that inclusion is not something we do for people with disabilities, it’s something we do for all of us. When we design a world for all bodies, all minds, and all experiences, we don’t just raise awareness, we raise our standards.
Disability awareness is built through intentional education, thoughtful policy, and respectful communication.
CPWD’s Disability Etiquette Training is designed for organizations seeking to create more inclusive workplaces, classrooms, service environments, and community programs. Led by people with lived experience, this training equips teams with the tools they need to engage respectfully, break down barriers, and foster a culture of access and equity.
If you would like your organization to integrate more disability awareness into the workplace culture, go to cpwd.org/disability-etiquette-training to learn more.