Opportunities to recognize and discuss disability all month long
Below you will find the names of famous disabled people born this month, dates of note in disability history, awareness/acceptance days related to specific disabilities and dates of cultural significance.
If there’s something you’d like to see on this month’s calendar, please let us know.
April
View the complete Disability Calendar of Events
Acceptance is an action. As the advocates at ASAN remind us “words must translate into action. As autistic self-advocates have said from the beginning, we must move beyond acceptance — to representation, celebration, and liberation. Acceptance is not the end goal. It is the baseline, a call to do better, the starting line of the marathon.”
We echo these thoughts and encourage you to listen and learn from autistic people themselves, which the resources below reflect, to not only accept difference as a natural part of the human experience but to celebrate and include it in meaningful ways.
Our page with Autism Acceptance books, videos, and other resources to celebrate and accept Autism. In April, and all year long.
April 5th - The 504 Sit-in (1977)
The 504 Sit-in was a disability rights protest that began on April 5, 1977. People with disabilities and the disability community occupied federal buildings in the United States in order to push the issuance of long-delayed regulations regarding Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
Videos:
The Power of 504 (open caption, english) 18 min.
Award-winning 18-minute documentary video, which captures the drama and emotions of the historic civil rights demonstration of people with disabilities in 1977, resulting in the signing of the 504 Regulations, the first Federal Civil Rights Law protecting people with disabilities. Includes contemporary news footage and news interviews with participants and demonstration leaders. Available in open caption, audio descriptive and standard formats.
Patient No More: Introduction 10 min.
Patient No More: Demanding Change 6min
Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability invites you to discover a remarkable, overlooked moment in U.S. history when people with disabilities occupied a government building to demand their rights. Known as the “Section 504 Sit-In,” the protest profoundly changed the lives of people with and without disabilities and paved the way for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. www.patientnomore.org
April 7th - Kitty Cone (born 1944)
“Shunned in school because of her disability, she devoted her life to the cause, organizing a historic sit-in that led to landmark federal legislation.”
Kitty Cone - Overlooked No More
Kitty Cone: Advocate for Disability Rights | Because of Her Story
April 15th - National American Sign Language Day
National ASL Day is a time to celebrate the rich history and vibrant culture of American Sign Language (ASL)!
In 1817, the American School for the Deaf (ASD) opened its doors in Hartford, Connecticut, laying the foundation for ASL. Through collaboration among teachers and students, ASL emerged from a blend of Native American Signs, French Sign Language, and Martha’s Vineyard Sign Language.
Learn more about sign language and Deaf history and culture using the resources we’ve pulled together on our dedicated page.
April 28 - Signing of Section 504 - a part of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act. (1977)
Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Action (not signed until 1977) forced hospitals, universities and any place that got federal money to remove obstacles to services and provide access to public transportation and public places.
San Francisco Sit-In a Defining Moment in Disability Rights History
NPR News: Disability Rights, Part II