Upon arrival at the Capitol, activists demonstrated their lack of access to public places by crawling up the steps, in an act of civil disobedience— famously referred to as “The Capitol Crawl.”

By Steven Perlman, DDS, MScD, DHL (hon), PAOH President

"If you kick a lion when it is down, God help you when it gets up." --Matshona Dhliwayo

July is Disability Pride Month that is celebrated in the United States and other countries. It is the commemoration of the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush on July 26, 1990.

The goal of President Bush was to prohibit discrimination and ensure equal opportunities for people with disabilities in various areas, including employment, public service, public accommodations, and telecommunications. The aim was to provide comprehensive civil rights protection like those already established, including race, sex, national origin, and religion.

The act covers a wide range of disabilities such as physical conditions affecting mobility, vision, hearing, speech, emotional illness, mental health, learning, intellectual and neuro development disorders.

The Disability Rights Movement that led to this historic act has many heroes which HELEN Journal has, and will continue to recognize for their contribution, and their legacy must be memorialized.

On March 12, 1990, over one thousand people with disabilities, many of them wheelchair users, marched and rolled from the White House to the Capitol Building to demand Congress pass the Americans with Disabilities Act. Upon arrival at the Capitol, about 60 activists demonstrated their lack of access to public places by crawling up the Capitol steps, in an act of civil disobedience that is famously referred to as “The Capitol Crawl.” The police arrested 104 individuals, many of whom were paraplegic or quadriplegic, for an unlawful demonstration. The concept of Disability Pride was born out of this movement.

The core of Disability Pride is to bring attention to negativism, bias, stigma, discrimination, social valorization, and the multitude of barriers that people with disabilities face. Although there has been progress over the past 35 years, access to and the ability to obtain quality healthcare remains the most significant problem they continue to experience.

Disability Pride celebrates the history of the Disability Rights Movement and, hopefully, the union of the social and medical model of disability. Although this is now widely celebrated throughout the world, it is not federally recognized in the United States.

The thought that came to my mind when I focused on the word “pride” was a term that is used to identify a group of lions that live together. In fact, there are roughly 100 descriptions of a collection of animals that belong to the same species that are visually found together. Groups of animals can be formed for a variety of reasons, such as protection, finding food or reproducing. Group names include a parliament of owls, an army of caterpillars, a bed of clams, a rookery of penguins, a bloom of jellyfish, and a cloud of grasshoppers.

Disability Pride and a pride of lions resonated with me; I thought about the parallels that exist between the two prides. A historical perception is that lions have long been associated with power, strength and royalty in various social justice and intersectional identity politics.

Lions usually live in groups of 15 or more. Without a pride, a single lioness suffers from loneliness and has difficulty raising her cubs and is often unable to sustain herself. It takes a village to support someone with a disability. The more severe the disability is, the more people it takes to support the family.

Female lions raise the cubs and nurture them. Parents with children that have disabilities must fight the system that starts with medical and dental services and includes educational programs. It never ends as they grow from children to adolescents to adulthood.

Female lions can be ousted from the pride. While divorce rate in the United States hovers around 40-50%, studies have shown that in families with children that have disabilities, the rate is substantially higher, reaching as much as 87%.

Mothers of children with disabilities face unique and significant challenges, including increased stress, mental health struggles and difficulties in navigating complex systems of care. They endure physical challenges, such as fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, sleep issues, anxiety, grief, and financial hardships. Siblings experience emotional and psychological effects such as feeling left out, guilt or resentment.

There are many parallels between prides of lions and the human family. Lions have a complex society that is built on cooperation, loyalty, and fierce protection. Their profound connection mirrors family ties. Humans, like lions, work together to ensure the well-being of their loved ones. As families of children and adults with disabilities face adversity on a daily basis, they are forced to maintain a united front facing challenges head on.

Lionesses teach their cubs valuable survival skills. Mothers of children and adults with disabilities need to do the same, including imparting knowledge, wisdom, and love.

Lion prides demonstrate that in the animal kingdom, as in our own lives, unity and family are a source of strength and the foundation of fulfilling and meaningful excellence.

Lions are the only cats that roar together. The advocates in the disability rights community have followed suit, and their success can be attributed to always roaring together.

Another vital lesson from nature!

No wonder the thought of a “pride” of lions resonated with me.

PAOH President’s Message: Thoughts on Disability Pride Month

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