Suggested Reading

• Fundamentals of Disability Inclusion: Unveiling Stereotypes, Unleashing Opportunities by Linda Fitzpatrick
• We’re Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation by Eric Garcia
• Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity by Devon Price

• Network Beyond Bias: Making Diversity a Competitive Advantage for Your Career by Amy C. Waninger

People With A Disability Less Likely To Have Completed A Bachelor's Degree 
People with a disability less likely to have completed a bachelor's degree : The Economics Daily: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov)

Vast Majority Of Students With Disabilities Don’t Get A College Degree
The vast majority of students with disabilities don’t get a college degree (hechingerreport.org)

Low Number Of Students With Disabilities Graduating From College
The Low Number Of Students With Disabilities Graduating From College Is A Crisis | HuffPost Latest News
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Transitioning to Life After High School 
Transitioning to Life After High School - NCLD  

WHAT IS DISABILITY?
A disability is any physical or mental impairment, either visible or invisible, permanent, or temporary, that substantially limits one or more major life activities. 
The Americans with Disabilities Act, also called the ADA, is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public.
When people with disabilities are treated unfairly, it’s called discrimination. 
The ADA has five sections that protects people with disabilities from discrimination:

• Title 1 – Employment
• Title 2 – State and Local Government
• Title 3 – Public Accommodations
• Title 4 – Telecommunications
• Title 5 – Miscellaneous

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, persons with disabilities are entitled to reasonable accommodations to achieve non-discriminatory access to activities, physical structures, buildings, programs, support, and services. 

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “A disability is any condition of the body or mind (impairment) that makes it more difficult for the person with the condition to do certain activities (activity limitation) and interact with the world around them (participation restrictions).

There are many types of disabilities, such as those that affect a person’s:

• Vision
• Movement
• Thinking
• Remembering
• Learning
• Communicating
• Hearing
• Mental health
• Social relationships

Although ‘people with disabilities’ sometimes refers to a single population, this is actually a diverse group of people with a wide range of needs. 
Two people with the same type of disability can be affected in very different ways. 
Some disabilities may be hidden or not easy to see.” (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

According to the World Health Organization, impairment and disability can be defined through varying dimensions: 

Impairment in a person’s body structure or function, or mental functioning; examples of impairments include loss of a limb, loss of vision or memory loss.

1. Activity limitation, such as difficulty seeing, hearing, walking, or problem solving.
   
   
2. Participation restrictions in normal daily activities, such as working, engaging in social and recreational activities, and obtaining health care and preventive services.

Disability can be:

• Related to conditions that are present at birth and may affect functions later in life, including cognition (memory, learning, and understanding), mobility (moving around in the environment), vision, hearing, behavior, and other areas. These conditions may be
  • Disorders in single genes (for example, Duchenne muscular dystrophy);
  • Disorders of chromosomes (for example, Down syndrome); and
  • The result of the mother’s exposure during pregnancy to infections (for example, rubella) or substances, such as alcohol or cigarettes.

• Associated with developmental conditions that become apparent during childhood (for example, autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or ADHD)​

• Related to an injury (for example, traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injuryexternal icon).
  

• Associated with a longstanding condition (for example, diabetes), which can cause a disability such as vision loss, nerve damage, or limb loss.
  

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• Progressive (for example, muscular dystrophy), static (for example, limb loss), or intermittent (for example, some forms of multiple sclerosisexternal icon).