Disability Policy Consortium

You are invited! Join the Disability Policy Consortium on Thursday, November 19th for the 30th Anniversary Gala to celebrate three decades of advocacy and impact.

🗓 Date: Thursday, November 19th, 2026
⏰ Time: 6:00 – 8:30 PM
📍 Location: Artists for Humanity (100 W 2nd Street Boston, MA 02127) and livestreamed on Zoom
👉Accessibility: ASL and CART will be provided
⭐Tickets: tinyurl.com/dpc-30-gala

In honor of this milestone, we are thrilled to present the Visionary Changemaker Award to longtime disability advocate Charlie Carr, whose leadership has shaped DPC and the entire disability rights movement in Massachusetts.

We will also be joined at the Gala by event co-chairs Audrey Shelto, former President and CEO of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, and Monika Mitra, Director of the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy at Brandeis University.

The Gala will be a powerful evening of community and connection. We hope to see you there!

⭐Get your tickets today! tinyurl.com/dpc-30-gala

Sponsorship packages are still available for the Gala! Please reach out to Allison Habermehl ([email protected]) for more information.

Why It Matters Monday
When Different Is Treated as Less

Imagine two people trying to get to the same destination. One walks. One uses a wheelchair. Imagine two students learning the same lesson. One reads printed text. One listens to an audiobook. Imagine two people sharing an idea. One speaks. One uses a communication device.

Different paths. Same destination.

Yet, somewhere along the way, many of us learned to believe that if someone does something differently, they must be doing it worse.

We confuse different ways of moving, communicating, learning, or living with being less capable, less intelligent, or less independent.

But different isn't the opposite of capable. Different isn't the opposite of successful. Different isn't the opposite of valuable. It's simply different. When we stop measuring everyone against one narrow idea of what's "normal," we begin to see something we've overlooked all along. There has never been just one right way to navigate the world. People have different strengths, different needs, and different ways of accomplishing the very same goals.

The problem isn't that people are different. The problem is that we've been taught to rank those differences instead of respecting them. Maybe it's time we stop asking people to do things the "normal" way and start recognizing that there are many ways to live a full, meaningful, and successful life.

Where do you see society confusing "different" with "less than"?

August Theme: Rethinking Normal

What does normal really mean?

Many of the things we accept as "just the way things are" are simply expectations we've inherited. The timelines we follow, the ways we communicate, the spaces we build, and even how we define success are often shaped without disability in mind.

This month, we're inviting you to rethink normal.

Throughout August, we'll explore the assumptions we rarely question and consider what becomes possible when we make room for different ways of living, learning, moving, communicating, and belonging.

Because creating a more inclusive world doesn't start with asking disabled people to fit into what's considered normal. It starts by asking whether "normal" was ever built for everyone in the first place.

A message from DPC’s Executive Director:

A couple of weeks ago, a Facebook post featuring DPC employees received a barrage of transphobic and ableist comments, most suggesting someone must have a mental health condition or intellectual disability simply because they appear q***r. These comments don't just harm the person they're directed toward or the LGBTQ+ community, but they also reinforce the harmful idea that disability itself is something shameful.

At DPC, we proudly stand with our transgender community and the entire LGBTQ+ community. Many members of our staff, leadership, allies, and broader disability community are transgender and/or identify as LGBTQ+ - myself included. We are not an exception to the disability community; we’re essential to it.

Last week, we closed out Disability Pride Month, which coincidentally follows LGBTQ+ Pride Month in June. To us, these are connected - both are rooted in the belief that no one should have to hide who they are to be accepted, and that our differences make our communities stronger.

Disabled people hear messages telling us to be different every day. Disability Pride invites us to let go of that shame and recognize that we have always been worthy of dignity, belonging, and love.

We know what it takes to learn to love the parts of ourselves the world once told us to hide. We are stronger because we know what it feels like to face barriers, exclusion, bullying, and discrimination. Those experiences have taught us empathy and the power of standing together. We will never let fear, prejudice, or hate divide our community.

In solidarity,

Harry Weissman

To read our longer statement about the significance of pride, visit tinyurl.com/DPC-pride-2026

"Rethinking Normal"
The Pressure to Fit In

How much energy does it take to look "normal"?

To push through pain so no one questions your disability. To avoid using the mobility aid you actually need because you don't want people staring. To stay quiet instead of asking for an accommodation. To laugh off an inaccessible situation because speaking up feels exhausting. To pretend you're okay when you're not.

Many people with disabilities spend a lifetime adapting themselves to fit into a world that wasn't built with them in mind.

Not because they want to, but because it's often easier than explaining, educating, or being judged. But every moment spent trying to fit someone else's definition of "normal" is energy that can't be spent simply living, connecting, creating, or finding joy in the things that make life meaningful.

Imagine if that energy didn't have to go toward fitting in. Imagine if it could go toward belonging instead. Because the goal was never to be "normal." The goal has always been to be accepted exactly as we are.

As we rethink "normal" we want to hear from you! Have you ever felt pressure to hide or change part of yourself just to fit in? What would have helped you feel like you truly belonged?

The MASILC wants to hear from you!

The Massachusetts Statewide Independent Living Council (MASILC) wants to know what is most important to people with disabilities, their families, and their communities.
Your answers will help set the direction of the next State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL).

Please fill out a survey: https://masilc.formstack.com/forms/2026il_needs_assessment

Learn more about the State Plan: https://masilc.org/state-plan-for-independent-living

Image description: brightly colored silhouettes of people with disabilities in motion

Alternative languages such as Spanish and Portuguese are available upon request.

Why It Matters Monday (A day late!)
Who Decides What's "Normal"?

Take a moment and think about the word normal.

Who decided what it means?

Most of us grow up treating "normal" like it's a fact. We assume there's one right way to learn, communicate, move through the world, work, or live. But the more we stop to think about it, the more we realize that "normal" isn't a law of nature. It's a collection of expectations we've inherited over time.

Many of the systems, spaces, and routines we rely on every day were designed with certain people in mind, while others were expected to adapt. Over time, those choices became so familiar that we stopped questioning them. We simply started calling them "normal."

But here's the thing: normal has never been permanent.

Every generation has challenged old assumptions and expanded what society accepts. Ideas that once seemed unusual, inconvenient, or unnecessary often become everyday parts of life. That's how progress happens.

The same is true for disability. Every time we question a barrier, make room for different ways of communicating, rethink how a space is designed, or recognize that there is more than one way to participate, we're doing more than improving accessibility. We're redefining what "normal" can be.

Maybe the goal isn't to fit into someone else's idea of normal.

Maybe it's to build a world where more people belong.

For the month of August, we will be challenging the traditional definition of normal together. What's something people call "normal" that you've always questioned?

Assumption: It's rude to ask questions about disability.

Reality: Respectful curiosity creates understanding.

Many people grow up believing that disability is something we shouldn't talk about. It often starts with good intentions. A child sees someone using a wheelchair and asks, "Why is that person in a wheelchair?" The parent blushes, apologizes, and quietly says, "Shhh... that's rude." The goal is usually to be respectful.

But the message a child may hear is something very different: disability is something we don't talk about.

When disability becomes something we're afraid to ask about, it also becomes something we're less likely to understand. For many people with disabilities, respectful curiosity isn't offensive. It's an opportunity to build connection. Asking about a wheelchair, a communication device, or why someone communicates differently can open the door to understanding instead of assumptions.

Of course, not everyone will want to answer every question, and that's okay too. Respect also means accepting someone's boundaries.

Disability isn't a bad word, and it isn't something that needs to be whispered about. It's part of the human experience. When we replace fear with respectful curiosity, we create opportunities for conversation, understanding, and belonging. That's how assumptions begin to disappear, and inclusion begins to grow.

What might change if we taught the next generation to replace fear with respectful curiosity?

Why It Matters Monday
Pride Carries Us Forward

As Disability Pride Month comes to a close, it's worth remembering that pride has never looked the same for everyone.

For some, disability is an identity they celebrate openly. For others, disability still carries grief, trauma, stigma, or experiences that make the word "pride" feel complicated.

Some are newly disabled and still adjusting. Some spent years being told to hide who they were. Some are still learning that disability is nothing to apologize for.

Every one of those experiences is valid.

Disability Pride has never been about expecting every disabled person to celebrate in the same way. It has always been about creating a world where disabled people have the freedom to define that relationship for themselves.

For many in our community, celebrating loudly isn't only about ourselves. It's about honoring those who came before us, whose voices, advocacy, and determination made today's opportunities possible. It's about standing beside those who aren't ready to celebrate today, letting them know there's space for every stage of the journey. And it's about believing that future generations of disabled people deserve to grow up in a world where disability is met with acceptance instead of shame, access instead of barriers, and belonging instead of exclusion.

That is what keeps the disability rights movement moving forward. Whether your Disability Pride is quiet or bold, joyful or complicated, deeply rooted or still unfolding, you belong in this community.

We still have time...They can cosponsor the amendment until it is being voted on the floor.

We currently have 17 cosponsors, let's get this across the finish line! MA residents, simply click the link and fill out your address, the email is already written for you.

tinyurl.com/ActOn373