National Disability Rights Network

Eugenics and ableist language become more common every day. Powerful people suggest that people with disabilities are less valuable, important, or worthy.

People with disabilities are NOT:

❌ problems to be solved.
❌ burdens on society.

We ARE:

✅ problem-SOLVERS.
✅ valuable PARTICIPANTS in society.

This is why disability pride is more important than ever. Disability Pride Month is one way to resist messages of ableism and eugenics.

As Elizabeth Campos of Disability Rights California says, “Disabled people deserve to be seen, heard, and celebrated exactly as we are."

Disabled people don’t just deserve to survive. We deserve to thrive. This month, we celebrate all the ways that people with disabilities thrive in the face of countless challenges.

Tell us: why does disability pride matter to you? 💬

disAbility Law Center of Virginia
Disability Rights Louisiana

PAID INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY: Are you a rural Missourian who relies on Medicaid? We want to hear from you! 📣

We’re working on two short documentary-style videos about the importance of Medicaid in rural communities.

As part of this project, we’re looking to interview individuals located in rural areas outside of St. Louis, Missouri who are either:

🎤 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) who receive Medicaid,
🏡 family members or caretakers of people with I/DD on Medicaid, or
🏥 healthcare workers who support people with I/DD.

Interviews will take no more than 2 hours. Participants will be paid a flat fee for their time. Filming will take place August 4th - 6th.

Interested?

People with I/DD: fill out the form at tinyurl.com/NDRN-medicaid.

Family members, caretakers, and healthcare workers in rural Missouri: contact us at [email protected]!

NOTE: For our purposes, intellectual or developmental disabilities can include, but are not limited to: Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Developmental Delays, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, Fragile X Syndrome, Learning Disorders, ADHD, Tourette Syndrome, Epilepsy, Communication Disorders, Motor Disorders, Intellectual Disability and other Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Want to learn more about definitions for intellectual and developmental disabilities? Check out this resource from the Arc of South Carolina: https://www.arcsc.org/i-dd

Things feel heavy for the disability community right now. How do we find disabled hope, power, and joy this Disability Pride Month in the face of so many challenges?

At NDRN, we’re not just celebrating disabled joy this month. We’re focusing on supports, opportunities, and dignity for people with disabilities.

We will not stop fighting until all people with disabilities can live, work, learn, and receive care in their communities.

And you can join this fight.

NDRN works every day to:
1. make the disability community heard at the federal level,
2. keep people with disabilities in their communities, and
3. create a society free of barriers for people with disabilities.

When you give today, you protect disabled peoples’ seat at the policy table. You make “Nothing About Us, Without Us” a reality.

Be the power behind our advocacy. Give today: https://www.ndrn.org/donate/

On June 18, 2026, the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel issued a slip opinion that directly attacks decades of progress toward equality, inclusion, and community living for people with disabilities. We strongly condemn this attempt to undermine the fundamental principle that people with disabilities have the right to live, work, learn, and receive services in their communities rather than be segregated in institutions. For generations, advocates, families, and people with disabilities have fought to dismantle systems of isolation and exclusion. This opinion rejects that hard-won progress and disregards the experiences of millions of Americans whose lives have been transformed by community-based services and supports.

Although this opinion does not overturn Olmstead v. L.C., repeal the Americans with Disabilities Act, or invalidate decades of federal court precedent, it sends a deeply troubling message about the Administration's intentions. The opinion is inconsistent with longstanding interpretations of federal disability rights law embraced by courts and administrations of both parties. By questioning the legal foundations of the Integration Mandate, it threatens the protections that help people avoid unnecessary institutionalization, remain connected to their families, secure stable housing, access education and employment, and participate fully in civic life. At a time when community-based supports are already under strain, this effort risks reversing decades of bipartisan progress and weakening one of the most successful civil rights movements in our nation's history.

“Our vision is rooted in hope and in the belief that people with disabilities belong in their communities, with the supports, opportunities, and dignity they deserve—and we will not go back,” said Marlene Sallo, Executive Director. We reject any effort to return to systems that separate people with disabilities from their communities or limit their choices and independence. We will continue to defend the protections and promises of Olmstead, the ADA, and Section 504; protect the services that make community living possible; and stand with people with disabilities and their families in the fight for equality, dignity, and self-determination. The work of community integration is not over, and our commitment to keeping people in their communities and homes remains as strong as ever.