Disability News, Benefits, and Health Resources
Seventy million American adults live with a disability. Another 1.3 billion people worldwide (about the combined population of Europe and North America) share that experience, roughly 16 percent of the global population.
Disabled World (DW), also known to many readers as Disability World, reports on the policies, research, benefits, and assistive technology that shape their lives. Coverage centers on the United States: Social Security and SSI payments, Medicare and Medicaid rules, accessibility law, and medical research relevant to American readers. International stories appear where they intersect with American policy or practice. Disabled World has been publishing since 2004 under the banner Towards Tomorrow. Learn more about us.
"Disability is the only minority group that anyone can join at any time." - a widely shared saying in the disability community, often attributed to American comedian Josh Blue.
Popular Pages
- Disability Loans and Grants: Financial assistance programs available for low-income families, seniors, and disabled students.
- Famous People with Disabilities: Lists of well-known people with various disabilities and conditions who contributed to society.
- Disability and Health Statistics: Data, charts and facts on prevalence, demographics and trends.
- Awareness Ribbon Colors: Guide to awareness ribbon colors for health, medical conditions, disability, and other causes.
- Adult Height to Weight Chart: Ideal weight-to-height ratio for adult females and males.
- Child to Teen Height to Weight Ratio Charts: Average height-to-weight ratios for children and teens organized by age.
Recent Disability News and Information
Charles Schwab and Dyslexia: Building Around Weak Spots
How Charles Schwab, diagnosed with dyslexia at 47, built a business by hiring for his deficits, and why the dyslexia superpower story overlooks the real lessons. Published: 5 Nov 2026.
Helen Keller: Language Access, Education and Independence
Helen Keller's path from childhood gestures to Radcliffe and socialist writing shows how access to language, books and teaching shaped her independent thought. Published: 2 Nov 2026.
Disability Pluralism: Understanding Many Ways of Being Human
Pluralism in disability explained: how the social model, the UN CRPD, Deaf culture and neurodiversity frame disability as a valued part of human diversity. Published: 31 Oct 2026.
Paper2Audio: AI Text-to-Speech App for Documents and Books
Paper2Audio is an AI text-to-speech app that turns PDFs, research papers, textbooks and ebooks into natural audio for people with dyslexia, ADHD or low vision. Published: 30 Oct 2026.
Kim Peek: Savant Memory, Disability and Measuring Ability
Kim Peek, the savant who inspired Rain Man, shows why exceptional memory, daily dependence and intelligence need to be assessed as separate human abilities. Published: 30 Oct 2026.
Captio AI: Live Captions App That Shows Who Is Speaking
Captio AI is a live captions app for iPhone, iPad and Android that captions speech in 60 languages and shows deaf and hard of hearing users who is speaking. Published: 27 Oct 2026.
Zhangjiajie for Seniors: Seeing the Peaks Without Climbing
A Zhangjiajie tour operator explains how seniors and travelers with limited mobility can see the peaks by elevator, cable car and eco-bus with less climbing. Published: 27 Oct 2026.
Marla Runyan: Elite Racing With Stargardt Vision Loss
Marla Runyan, Paralympic champion and two-time Olympian with Stargardt disease, raced at elite speed with central vision loss and incomplete visual information. Published: 27 Oct 2026.
Newly Updated Pages
NaviFut xStep Foot-Operated Wireless Mouse Review: Review of the NaviFut xStep foot-operated wireless mouse, a hands-free assistive device letting users move the cursor and click with foot motions alone.
Universe 25: Calhoun's Behavioral Sink and Disability Lens: Examines John B. Calhoun's Universe 25 mouse experiment and behavioral sink theory through a disability lens, linking exclusion and design to social collapse.
US Life Expectancy by State, Race and Ethnicity Data: Explore US life expectancy by state, race and ethnicity with rankings and historical data from 1950 to 2022, showing Hawaii highest and Mississippi lowest.