National Barrier Awareness Day is an annual event held on May 7 to encourage the elimination of barriers that prevent the social integration of individuals with disabilities. The day was created to eliminate the stigmas that prevent people with disabilities from advancing in education, social life, the workplace, and other areas. President Ronald Reagan established the holiday and encouraged citizens to observe it with appropriate programmes and activities.
The Background of National Barrier Awareness Day
National Barrier Awareness Day was proclaimed for the first time on May 7, 1986, by President Ronald Reagan. The purpose of the resolution was to recognise the outstanding achievements of numerous disabled citizens, to raise awareness of the barriers that prevent or inhibit so many Americans from completely participating in social life, and to encourage us to assist in removing those barriers.
The proclamation kicked off the day with events and programmes that contributed to the elimination of barriers faced by individuals with disabilities.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability, influences the proclamation of the day by drawing to the public’s attention pertinent issues that impede people with disabilities. In the years following the proclamation of National Barrier Awareness Day, the measure was drafted, introduced in the House and Senate in 1988, and signed into law in 1990.
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identify five dimensions of disability: vision, cognition, mobility, independent living, and self-care. Autism, autoimmune conditions (e.g., lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, H.I.V/AIDS), blindness or poor vision, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, cancer, cardiovascular or heart disease, the deaf or hard of hearing, missing limbs or partially missing limbs, depression or anxiety, intellectual disability, nervous system conditions like Parkinson’s disease, psychiatric conditions like bipolar disorder, P.
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5 essential facts about disability
According to a report by the C.D.C., 61 million Americans suffer from a disability of some kind.
According to the United Nations Development Programme, eighty percent of individuals with disabilities reside in developing nations.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States, was physically disabled.
According to a report by the United States Census Bureau, not only do individuals with disabilities face disadvantages, but their children and presumably grandchildren do as well.
Texas, Florida, Mississippi, and states along the southern coast have the greatest percentage of individuals with disabilities, according to statistics from the United States Census Bureau.
NATIONAL BARRIER AWARENESS DAY DATES
Year | Date | Day |
---|---|---|
2023 | May 7 | Sunday |
2024 | May 7 | Tuesday |
2025 | May 7 | Wednesday |
2026 | May 7 | Thursday |
2027 | May 7 | Friday |