National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month is an opportunity to promote respect for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and to educate others on the spectrum of abilities people with I/DD possess. For example, some disabilities are visible (a person who uses a wheelchair or crutches to ambulate), while other disabilities may not be easily recognized or seen by the eye (cognitive challenges that affect the way a person speaks, learns, or interacts with others).
This month our goal is to raise awareness about the inclusion of people with developmental disabilities in all areas of community life, as well as awareness to the barriers that people with disabilities still sometimes face in connecting to the communities in which they live.