Disability Pride Is About Belonging

Every July, Disability Pride Month is celebrated across the United States, recognizing the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990 and honoring the disability community’s history, achievements, and contributions.

When people hear the words Disability Pride, they often think about celebrating disability identity or learning about the Disability Pride Flag. While those are important parts of Disability Pride Month, there is another idea at the heart of this movement: belonging.

Belonging means more than simply being invited somewhere. It means knowing you can fully participate, be yourself, and be welcomed just as you are.

For many people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, that isn’t always the reality. Physical barriers, inaccessible spaces, and misconceptions can make it difficult to participate in everyday community life.

Disability Pride reminds us that everyone deserves more than access. Everyone deserves to feel like they have a place in their community.

Inclusion Is More Than Being Present

Imagine being invited to a community concert but discovering there isn’t an accessible restroom you can use.

Imagine wanting to join a sports league but there aren’t programs designed to include athletes of all abilities.

Imagine attending school, applying for a job, or participating in community events while constantly wondering whether you’ll be accepted, accommodated, or understood.

Technically, you were invited.

But were you truly included?

Inclusion means more than opening the door. It means creating spaces where people don’t have to question whether they’ll be welcomed or whether their needs were considered. It means designing communities where everyone can participate from the very beginning.

Belonging Happens in Everyday Moments

Disability Pride isn’t only celebrated at parades or awareness events.

It happens in ordinary moments.

It happens when a teenager joins a self-advocacy group and realizes they are surrounded by peers who understand them.

It happens when someone gets their first job because an employer recognized their talents and potential.

It happens when children grow up learning, playing, and building friendships alongside classmates with and without disabilities.

And sometimes, it begins with something as fundamental as having a safe, private place to meet a basic need.

For Britlee Carter and her 13-year-old son, Christopher, attending community events wasn’t always simple. Christopher uses a wheelchair and wears diapers due to his disability. Before The Arc Pikes Peak Region’s Mobile Universal Changing Station was available, every outing came with uncertainty. If there wasn’t an adult-sized changing table, Britlee often had to change Christopher before leaving home, on the floor of a public restroom, in the back of their vehicle, or wait until they returned home.

As Britlee puts it, “No 13-year-old should have to experience that.”

Today, the Mobile Universal Changing Station gives Christopher the privacy, comfort, and dignity every person deserves. Instead of worrying about how his basic needs will be met, their family can focus on making memories together and enjoying the same community events that many of us take for granted.

Britlee explains: “Most people never have to think about whether they’ll have a private place to meet their basic needs. For families like ours, that’s a reality every time we leave home. The Mobile Universal Changing Station has removed that barrier and made it possible for Christopher to fully participate in his community with dignity.”

This is what true inclusion looks like.

It means removing barriers so families can spend less time planning around obstacles and more time enjoying experiences together. It means making sure people with disabilities can show up, participate, and enjoy their communities with the same dignity and respect as everyone else.

Accessibility Creates Opportunity

Accessibility is often associated with ramps, elevators, or accessible parking spaces. While those features are important, accessibility is much bigger than that.

Accessibility means creating spaces where people can participate with dignity, independence, and confidence.

It means offering information in plain language.

It means providing sensory-friendly environments.

It means ensuring people who need adult-sized changing tables have access to them.

It means designing programs, events, and spaces that welcome people with different abilities instead of expecting them to fit into systems that weren’t built with them in mind.

When communities invest in accessibility, they do more than remove physical barriers. They send a powerful message: you belong here.

Everyone Benefits

Creating inclusive communities doesn’t only benefit people with disabilities.

When parks, businesses, schools, and community events are designed to be accessible, everyone benefits.

Families spend more time together.

Businesses welcome more customers.

Students learn empathy, respect, and collaboration.

Communities become richer because more people can share their talents, perspectives, and experiences.

Inclusion isn’t about making special accommodations for a few people. It’s about building communities where everyone can participate in everyday life and where differences are recognized as strengths.

Everyone Deserves to Belong

At The Arc Pikes Peak Region, we envision a community where every person with an intellectual or developmental disability has the opportunity to fully participate in community life—not just during Disability Pride Month, but every day.

That means advocating for equal rights, expanding access to inclusive opportunities, removing barriers, and creating spaces where everyone is welcomed, valued, and respected. It means recognizing that inclusion isn’t something people should have to ask for. It should be part of every school, workplace, business, and community gathering.

This Disability Pride Month, we invite you to look at your own community through a new lens.

Ask yourself:

• Does everyone feel welcome here?
• What barriers still exist?
• How can I help make my community more inclusive?

Whether it’s learning more about disability, advocating for accessibility, supporting inclusive organizations, or simply making space for every voice to be heard, each of us has a role to play.

Because when people with disabilities are welcomed, respected, and able to fully participate, our entire community is stronger.

Together, we can build a Pikes Peak region where everyone has the freedom to enjoy the moments that matter most—from attending a concert or joining a sports league to finding meaningful employment, building lasting friendships, and pursuing their goals. A community where everyone belongs isn’t just better for people with disabilities—it’s better for all of us.