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.
Did You Know:
- 1 - Autism diagnoses have risen dramatically: about 1 in 31 eight-year-old children (3.2 percent) were identified with autism in 2022 CDC surveillance data, up from 1 in 36 in 2020 and just 1 in 150 when the CDC first began tracking it among children born in the early 1990s.
- 2 - Disability rises sharply with age: about 8.7 percent of adults aged 18 to 29 report a disability, climbing to 43.9 percent among adults aged 65 and older.
- 3 - Childhood disability tracks closely with family income - 18 percent of U.S. children in families below the poverty level report a disability, compared with 11 percent of children in families at or above 200 percent of the poverty level. View more Disability Statistics.
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Recent Disability News and Information
UK TV Disability Hiring Target May Not Be Met Until 2028
Independent Creative Diversity Network review finds UK television off-screen disability representation rose just 0.9%, delaying the Doubling Disability target. Published: 4 Aug 2026.
Cat Training Helps Kids With Disabilities and Cats
A cat training program improved behavior, responsibility and bonds for children with developmental disabilities while making their family cats more social. Published: 4 Aug 2026.
Unseen: Voices of Visually Impaired South Africans
A book by Joanne Bloch sharing her own sight loss story and interviews with 20 visually impaired South Africans on adaptation, barriers, and daily life. Published: 4 Aug 2026.
MTA Settlement Improves NY Subway Elevator Outage Access
Disability advocates reach a class action settlement with the MTA requiring better signage, announcements, and alerts for New York subway elevator outages. Published: 31 Jul 2026.
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.
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.
Newly Updated Pages
ASL Native Students and Why U.S. Education Policy Fails: Linguistic research shows native American Sign Language users are excluded from U.S. multilingual education protections, and why policy reform is needed.
CrossCountry Debuts Digital Priority Seating Card: CrossCountry launches an industry-first digital Priority Seating Card for Apple Wallet and Android Wallet, helping customers discreetly request priority seats.