By Dr. Davi Kallman
Every July, Disability Pride Month rolls around, and I inevitably see a flood of social media posts celebrating disabled people for overcoming obstacles, persevering through challenges, or refusing to let disability stop them from achieving their goals.
While I understand the intention behind these messages, they often leave me feeling uncomfortable because they miss the point entirely.
Disability Pride is not about being inspirational.
It is not about proving our worth through extraordinary accomplishments. It is not about demonstrating resilience in the face of adversity so that nondisabled people can feel inspired. And it certainly is not about pretending that disability is easy.
For me, Disability Pride is about something much simpler and far more powerful. It is about rejecting the idea that disability is something to be ashamed of.
As someone who lives with multiple disabilities, including dyslexia, ADHD, hearing loss, and several chronic health conditions, I spent much of my life believing that success depended on how well I could hide my struggles. I learned early that asking for help could be viewed as weakness, that accommodations were something to feel guilty about, and that if I worked hard enough, maybe people would forget I was disabled altogether.
Many disabled people know this story well.
We become experts at masking, compensating, over-preparing, and exhausting ourselves trying to meet expectations that were never designed with us in mind. We often receive praise for how “normal” we appear rather than appreciation for the unique perspectives and experiences we bring to the table.
For years, I thought the goal was to overcome my disabilities.
Eventually, I realized that what truly needed to be overcome were the barriers surrounding me.
That realization changed everything.
As a disability scholar and higher education leader, I spend a great deal of time helping organizations think differently about accessibility. One of the biggest misconceptions I encounter is the belief that disability is a niche issue affecting a small group of people. In reality, disability is one of the most universal human experiences. Whether through aging, illness, injury, mental health conditions, or chronic disease, disability touches nearly every family and every community.
The question is not whether disability affects us.
The question is whether we are willing to create systems, environments, and cultures that acknowledge that reality.
Too often, accessibility is framed as something extra. It is treated as an accommodation for a few rather than a benefit for everyone. We build systems for an imagined “average” person and then scramble to make exceptions when people do not fit that mold.
But human beings have never fit neatly into a single mold.
The students I work with, the employees I supervise, the families I meet, and the communities I serve are incredibly diverse in how they learn, communicate, process information, move through the world, and experience life. Accessibility is not about creating special treatment. It is about recognizing that variation is normal and designing environments that reflect that reality from the beginning.
This is where Disability Pride becomes so important.
Disability Pride invites us to move beyond awareness and toward belonging. Awareness asks us to acknowledge that disabled people exist. Belonging asks us to create communities where disabled people are expected, valued, and included from the start.
There is a significant difference between being accommodated and being welcomed.
One says, “We’ll make room for you.”
The other says, “We planned for you to be here.”
That distinction matters.
As a disabled woman, I am proud of the person I have become. Not because disability made me stronger or because I somehow conquered adversity, but because my experiences have shaped how I understand leadership, empathy, community, and justice. Disability has taught me to question assumptions, challenge systems, seek creative solutions, and advocate for others. It has given me perspectives that I would not trade away.
That does not mean I love every symptom, every barrier, or every challenge.
It means I no longer believe that disability diminishes my value.
And that is what Disability Pride means to me.
It is the recognition that disabled people do not need to earn belonging by proving our worth. We do not need to inspire others in order to deserve respect. We do not need to hide parts of ourselves to make others comfortable.
We belong because we are human.
As we celebrate Disability Pride Month, I encourage all of us to think beyond awareness campaigns and inspirational stories. Instead, let’s ask ourselves a more meaningful question: What would our workplaces, schools, organizations, and communities look like if we truly believed that disability was a natural and valuable part of human diversity?
The answer to that question has the potential to transform far more than the lives of disabled people.
It has the potential to create a world where everyone belongs.
About the Author
Dr. Davi Kallman is a nationally recognized disability scholar, higher education leader, speaker, and advocate whose work focuses on accessibility, belonging, leadership, and systems change. As a disabled woman living with multiple visible and invisible disabilities, Davi brings both professional expertise and lived experience to conversations about creating environments where all people can thrive.