March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. With a focus on recognizing individuals for their many abilities, The Arc of Opportunity highlights one individual each week with a social media piece called “One Moment”. One in four Americans has a disability. This statistic may seem surprising to many; however, a disability may be visible or invisible, from birth or acquired over a lifetime. Often, negative perceptions overshadow a person’s abilities. The challenge of changing these stereotypes is at the core of The Arc's mission. Providing the highest quality of life includes supporting the belief that a ‘disability’ does not define a person.
The Arc's Family Supports and Recreation Program provides an opportunity for individuals to advocate for themselves. The program models inclusion and inspires individuals to focus on their strengths, talents, and abilities. Recognizing people by their own unique identities such as artist, voter, coworker, athlete, or musician empowers them to be a part of their communities. This message of community inclusion and advocacy is showcased when individuals with disabilities visit the State House in Boston to voice their concerns to their legislators.
People with disabilities are – first and foremost – people who have individual abilities, interests and needs. Their contributions enrich our communities and society as they live, work and share their lives. One of the major improvements in communicating with and about people with disabilities is "People-First Language.” People-First Language emphasizes the person, not the disability. By placing the person first, the disability is no longer the primary, defining characteristic of an individual, but one of several aspects of the whole person. It eliminates generalizations and stereotypes, by focusing on the person rather than the disability.
You can support the mission of The Arc right now in two ways – attend one of our upcoming events and make a generous gift that allows us to lift up the abilities of people with I/DD not just in March but every day