Every March, the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD) and its partners collaborate to lead Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month (DDAM). The annual campaign highlights how people with and without disabilities come together to form strong communities.
This year’s theme is “A World of Opportunities.”
Organizations have begun to share videos and resources in honor of the month. The Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), for instance, has released three sets of videos focusing on empowerment:
- The Art of Advocacy, in which self-advocates share what advocacy means to them and what they hope the future of advocacy will hold;
- Look Beyond, a series showing how some people with developmental disabilities choose to define themselves and how they want others to see them;
- Sexuality and People With Developmental Disabilities, featuring people with developmental disabilities speaking about the importance of open dialogue, access to information and resources, and connecting people to the community as the foundation to developing more intimate and meaningful relationships and supporting them in their sexual self-advocacy.
And here are some resources from the Autism Society:
- Collaboration Among the I/DD Community (Facebook Live episode)
- CDC Developmental Disabilities Page
- March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month
- Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month Guide
Stay on the lookout for other ways to celebrate and honor the month.
