AAPD - The American Association of People with Disabilities
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aapd.com
AAPD - The American Association of People with Disabilities
@aapd.com
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AAPD works to increase the political and economic power of people with disabilities and advocates for full civil rights for over 70 million Americans with disabilities. We are a national cross-disability and nonpartisan organization. Get involved: aapd.com
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aapd.com
We’re excited to share a new report: Building Disability Economic Power Through AAPD’s Internship Program! The report includes our key findings and what changes we’ve made since then. The results are incredible.

ID: New Report: Disability Economic Power & AAPD Internships
New Report: Disability Economic Power & AAPD Internships
December 10, 2025 at 7:05 PM
aapd.com
This blogger described the intersection between her racial identity and mental health journey. She wrote about how she does not want to be a token high-achieving Black woman anymore. Read the whole piece at: https://www.aapd.com/my-token-is-done-shining-for-you/
ID: White text on a purple textured background that says: "I represented my community with grace. I did not slip up, I did not show weariness, I put on a brave face. I knew my place. I was often the first of many. I checked every box, and I was your token. But what happens when the boxes we are placed into no longer fit us? What happens when the token stops shining for you?" attributed to anonymous.
December 8, 2025 at 8:59 PM
aapd.com
In a few weeks, we’re saying goodbye to our Fall 2025 interns. We’re grateful to have worked with this amazing cohort and can’t wait to see what they’ll do next! 👋 🎉

Read more about each of them: https://www.aapd.com/meet-the-fall-2025-interns/
Nine diverse Fall 2025 interns posed in a grid layout against a blue background with AAPD branding below.
December 4, 2025 at 8:00 PM
aapd.com
U really shouldn't use it (yes even if ur the President)

ID: Bold text on a dark blue background that says "The R-Word Is A Slur". Slur is written in a fancy cursive typeface
Bold text on dark background stating 'The R-Word is a Slur'
December 3, 2025 at 9:00 PM
aapd.com
Today is International Day of Persons with Disabilities & this year's theme is "Fostering disability inclusive societies for advancing social progress". What does that actually look like? A world where disabled people can live full lives. This is what we fight for every day. We hope you'll join us.
December 3, 2025 at 4:01 PM
aapd.com
It’s #GivingTuesday! Your gift supports disability rights, expands access, and fuels leadership programs that open pathways to economic opportunity.

Make a Giving Tuesday gift: https://ow.ly/btJe50XAWqa

#AAPD #DisabilityCommunity #AccessForAll #REVUP
ID: An image about Giving Tuesday featuring disability activists at a rally to the right of text that says "Your donation to AAPD will support access across digital, civic, employment, and physical spaces"
December 2, 2025 at 8:58 PM
aapd.com
Tomorrow, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act turns 50! AAPD's Policy Fellow, Angeth Mayen, wrote this powerful blog about how IDEA has impacted her educational journey and why protecting and expanding IDEA is so important.
November 28, 2025 at 8:04 PM
aapd.com
In this new blog post, Emma writes about how the intersection of queerness and disability informs their approach to research.

Read their blog: https://www.aapd.com/queer-disability-history/
History is political because the lives of the people and communities I study are under continual threats that mirror what we have endured in the past.... Celebrating our history, especially when paired with action in the present, has the potential to buoy us through hard times.
October 24, 2025 at 4:40 PM
aapd.com
Disabled women are paid only 56 cents for every dollar paid to a nondisabled man. Ridiculous, right? That’s why today is the second-ever #DisabledWomensEqualPayDay. Join us in highlighting the barriers to equal pay and help us close the gap. Take action today! tinyurl.com/DWEPD25
Centered over a dark green background, capitalized top header text reads “Disabled Women’s Equal Pay Day 2025 October 23” in white and yellow letters. Below, white text reads “We’re still fighting for equal pay.” Centered at the bottom are four hand-drawn people. From left to right, there is a person sitting down facing left, a person standing wearing dark sunglasses and holding a cane, a person with a prosthetic leg standing and waving, and a person sitting in a wheelchair facing left. Centered over a dark green background, capitalized top header text reads “Disabled Women’s Equal Pay Day 2025 October 23” in white and yellow letters. Below are half of the logos of the coalition. Centered over a dark green background, capitalized top header text reads “Disabled Women’s Equal Pay Day 2025 October 23” in white and yellow letters. Below are half of the logos of the coalition.
October 23, 2025 at 6:16 PM
aapd.com
This Indigenous People’s Day, Emmett explains how the disability experience intersects with the Indigenous experience in this powerful piece. They wrote, “My body and history can’t be dissected from the land.”

Read it: https://www.aapd.com/disability-land-wahkotowin/
"The ongoing climate crisis shows us how warfare and environmental collapse are making us all more disabled. While this awareness is important, it is worth noting how for many Indigenous people, our bodies and the land can't be nicely separated."
October 13, 2025 at 3:41 PM
aapd.com
Last week, HHS Sec. Kennedy made false claims connecting acetaminophen (Tylenol) and autism. Marcy Hannah Waring is an autistic self-advocate, joining us on the blog to talk about all that has been happening. https://www.aapd.com/i-am-autistic-no-i-dont-want-a-cure/
Person with shoulder-length blonde hair wearing a beige blazer and white shirt against a plain gray background with a quote "Stop conflating ASD treatments with ASD cures and preventions. You cannot honestly claim to love an autistic person while simultaneously wishing they weren't born the way they were."
October 5, 2025 at 1:32 PM
aapd.com
Does $25,000 to advance a bold idea that would benefit the disability community sound cool to you? If it does, you should apply for AAPD’s Paul G. Hearne Emerging Leaders Award!

ASL interpreters and CART will be provided. Register https://ow.ly/a3kz50X3Nut
Register for the Paul G. Heanre Award Webinar.
September 29, 2025 at 4:39 PM
aapd.com
AAPD President and CEO Maria Town will be in-person presenting at the Disability Resource Network's State of Disability. Participants can come in-person in Huntsville, Alabama, or can register to get the Zoom link.

Register here 👉 docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Poster with information about the event that matches what is in the post and the link, with a photo of Maria Town smiling on the right side of the image. It says "State of Disability" on top.
August 25, 2025 at 3:34 PM
aapd.com
AAPD Summer Internship alumni Alma Silver shares her experience of going viral on social media for interacting with President Biden as a visibly disabled woman while the rights for people with disabilities are getting legislated away by Congress. Read more 👉 www.aapd.com/becoming-ins...
Dark blue text on a light blue background featuring a quote from Alma Silver: "Instead of sharing 'inspirational' videos online, let's work towards a world so accessible and inclusive that a disabled woman talking to the President of the United States is the norm, and not the exception."
July 21, 2025 at 3:36 PM
aapd.com
The Department of Labor recently rescinded rules that promote the hiring and fair compensation of disabled people. Click here to read AAPD's press release explaining these policy changes and what they mean for our community, and follow us to take action: www.aapd.com/dol-harmful-...
The Department of Labor (DOL) just took actions that will make it harder for disabled people to have equal access to employment opportunities. AAPD condemns DOL's deliberate and dangerous efforts to roll back essential federal progress to ensures employment opportunities for disabled workers. Read our press release and take action!
July 10, 2025 at 10:39 PM
aapd.com
We are seeking an Internship Program Manager

Details:

✅Position Type: Manager
✅Job Type: Full-Time
✅Location: Hybrid in the Washington, DC metro area (i.e., some in-person work will be required)
✅Salary: $70,000 - 85,000
✅Start Date: August 2025

Apply: ats.rippling.com/aapd-jobs/jo...
AAPD is hiring an Internship Program Manager for a hybrid role with a priority application deadline of July 11.
July 8, 2025 at 5:00 PM
aapd.com
As Pride Month ends, we honor the disabled queer activists who helped pave the way like Marsha P. Johnson, who lived with disabilities. 10 yrs after Obergefell, many disabled people still can't marry without losing vital benefits. ✊ AAPD is in solidarity: aapd.quorum.us/campaign/121...
White text outlined in dark blue on a background made to look like the Pride flag. The text says “Honoring LGBTQIA+ People with Disabilities”. Below it, a black-and-white photo of queer activist Marsha P. Johnson wearing a black dress, thick glasses, and a large feather in her hair.
June 26, 2025 at 11:01 PM
aapd.com
The Summer 2025 #AAPDinterns have started their internships at placement sites across many organizations and industries in D.C.! Our program builds skills, facilitates connection, and grows disability pride and identity.

Get to know our interns here: www.aapd.com/meet-the-202...
Image Description: A blue graphic with white text and bright blue decorations reads, “Meet Our Summer 2025 Intern Class!” A photo of a group of AAPD interns smiling at the camera, gathered outside on a rooftop balcony. The group is diverse in race and gender, and has a diversity of disabilities. Some members are sitting in wheelchairs, others are standing, and others are using canes. Some are wearing masks. The AAPD logo is at the bottom.
June 25, 2025 at 7:15 PM
aapd.com
Today is Juneteenth, a celebration of Black freedom. On this day in 1865, news of freedom from slavery reached the last enslaved people in Texas. We celebrate the freedom, joy, rest, and leadership of Black disabled people today and every day.
Yellow graphic with red, green, and black shapes decorating the corners. Black text says, “Honoring Juneteenth.” The white AAPD logo is in the bottom corner.
June 20, 2025 at 3:00 AM
aapd.com
We've organized to protect Medicaid before, and we'll do it again. But to win this fight, we need you to call and write your reps NOW!

AAPD makes it super easy to call and email your reps at this link: aapd.quorum.us/campaign/125...

If calling isn't your thing, just write at AAPD.com/Action
A blue, white, and navy background with a large white text box that reads, “You Have The Power” in black and purple block letters. Beneath, illustrations of three Disabled protestors: a Black woman with a limb difference holding a megaphone, a brown-skinned wheelchair user with her hand on her hip, and a white man with his fist in the air, holding a sign that reads, "Protect Medicaid, Save Lives!". The wheelchair user has a pink speech bubble that says "Call Congress Today!" Below, the AAPD logo.
May 21, 2025 at 10:59 PM
aapd.com
Medicaid cuts are an immediate threat to millions, stripping over 13M of health coverage and devastating access to care, jobs, & services. Disabled Americans will be hit hardest.
A navy slide with bold, teal writing that reads, “The Reconciliation Bill proposes $715 billion in cuts to Medicaid. The largest cut to Medicaid in American history.” At the bottom, the AAPD logo. A navy slide with bold, teal writing that reads, “These cuts to Medicaid would strip coverage from at least 13.7 Million Americans”. At the bottom, the AAPD logo. A navy slide with text that reads, “Current Status of Reconciliation Bill”. Below, three text boxes connected with progression arrows. The first reads, “Late Sunday, the House Budget Committee passed the Bill”. The second reads, “It now moves to the House Rules Committee for review”. The third reads, “The Bill will likely see a full House vote by this Thursday”. At the bottom, the AAPD logo. A navy slide with bold, teal writing that reads, “You have the power to make a difference!”. Below, there is a graphic of a blue and teal cell phone. On the phone’s screen there is a text bubble that reads, “Tell Your Representative - No Cuts to Medicaid”. Beneath, it reads, “Email and Call Your Representative at the Link Below”. At the bottom, the AAPD logo.
May 20, 2025 at 11:48 PM
aapd.com
Congress has released a budget with proposed Medicaid cuts that will kill disabled and aging Americans. This isn’t about right vs. left. This is right vs. wrong.

Take action to prevent these devastating cuts: aapd.quorum.us/campaign/111...

Image descriptions in alt-text and comments.
May 13, 2025 at 2:24 AM
aapd.com
This Just In 📢

A coalition of the nation’s leading autism and disability organizations have come together to convene an Autism Roundtable on May 12, 2025. Despite his stated interest in autism, Secretary Kennedy has not responded to our invitation to attend.

www.aapd.com/autism-round...
A grayscale graphic with a photo of Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the background. In the foreground, a blue banner reads, “Breaking News”. Below, text reads, “HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Fails to Respond to Invitation from Disability and Autism Organizations ”.
May 8, 2025 at 7:24 PM
aapd.com
Since its inception, the award-winning film UNSEEN was designed to uplift and prioritize blind and undocumented immigrant audiences – communities that are systemically pushed to the margins.

Image descriptions in alt-text and below.
A square-shaped asset with a sky-blue background featuring the event title at the top and center, which reads “Impact Deconstructed” in a row of black text, followed by the subtitle, “Learnings from the unseen Impact Campaign,” in two rows of black text. Both the title and subtitle sit atop a crinkled strip of paper held up by beige tape at the corners. At the top left corner are the logos for the Global Impact Producers Alliance, POV, Sundance Institute, and American Association of People with Disabilities. Below the title and subtitle is a row of five headshots of the panelists for the event, with their names below the corresponding photograph, in the following order: Ana Portnoy, Conchita Hernandez, Pedro, Qudsiya Naqui, and Set Hernandez. Below the row of headshots is a thick beige strip atop which are the date and time of the event in two rows of white-rimmed black text, which read: “Date: Thursday, May 8th, 2025” and “Time: 4:00 PM PST / 7:00 PM EST”. To the right of the date and time is a small section that reads “Zoom Registration”, below which is a QR code and bit.ly link.
May 8, 2025 at 12:19 AM
aapd.com
HAPPENING NOW: 24-hour Medicaid Vigil at the National Mall 🕯️

Medicaid is not just a line item in a budget – it's a lifeline for millions of people and families. That’s why we’re joining a 24-hour #ProtectMedicaid vigil at the U.S. Capitol. Join us! go.caringacross.org/a/dc-medicai...
Graphic on a brightly colored background shows a hand holding a glowing candle. Text reads “24-hour Medicaid vigil at the National Mall, begins 5/7 @1pm and ends with a rally 5/8 @ 12pm.”
May 7, 2025 at 5:12 PM