“Knowledge and understanding that something is happening or exists” is Merriam Webster’s definition of awareness. So why do we need awareness months for various disabilities? Surely people know and understand that these disabilities exist. But the prevalence of months focused on specific disabilities suggests otherwise.
Take May, for example, which has multiple disabilities promoting awareness in the United States. It’s tough to keep track of them all. Hence my decision to list 12 disabilities with awareness months that promote understanding, acceptance, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, resources for living with the condition, advocacy, and/or a cure. Together we can make life better for affected individuals and family members.
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1. Asthma and Allergy
More than 100 million Americans have (1) asthma, a chronic condition that affects the airways in the lungs; or (2) allergies which cause the body’s immune system to see a substance as harmful and overreact to it. https://bit.ly/3QQhdfD
2. Arthritis
Nearly 60 million Americans have arthritis which involves the swelling and tenderness of one or more joints causing joint pain and stiffness. https://bit.ly/4bpKOov
3. Mental Health
Nearly 50 million American adults have a mental illness. Disorders range from anxiety, depression, eating, personality, post-traumatic stress, and psychosis. https://www.mhanational.org/mental-health-month
4. Speech-Language-Hearing
Communication disorders affect about five to ten percent of Americans (15 to 30 million). By first grade, about five percent of children have a noticeable speech disorder. About three million adults stutter and about one million adults have aphasia which impacts speech, writing, and understanding language. https://bit.ly/3V8fCEg
5. Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia affects about ten million Americans and involves chronic pain; fatigue; sleep disturbances; sensitivity to touch, light, and sound; and cognitive difficulties. https://www.fmaware.org/fibromyalgia-awareness-day-history/
6. Celiac Disease
About three million Americans have Celiac—a chronic autoimmune disease—which affects the small intestine making it difficult to digest food. https://celiac.org/mcam/
7. Lupus
1.5 million Americans have Lupus, a chronic disease that can cause inflammation and pain in any part of the body due to the immune system attacking healthy tissue instead of fighting infections. https://www.lupus.org/lupus-awareness-month
8. Strokes
Every year more than 795,000 people have a stroke which damages brain tissue due to loss of blood flow to part of the brain. https://bit.ly/3QOtcdy
9. Bladder Cancer
An estimated 725,000 people live with bladder cancer and more than 80,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. https://bcan.org/news/news/
10. Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS)
EDS affects fewer than 200,000 people and is a group of 13 heritable connective tissue disorders. Joint hypermobility, skin hyperextensibility, and tissue fragility are common to all types. https://www.ehlers-danlos.com/what-is-eds/
11. Melanoma Skin Cancer
About 100,640 new melanomas will be diagnosed in 2024 and about 8,290 people are expected to die of melanoma. https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/skin-cancer/prevent/how
12. Cystic Fibrosis
Close to 40,000 Americans have cystic fibrosis, a rare genetic disease that affects the lungs, pancreas, and other organs. https://www.cff.org/intro-cf#overview-of-cf
Image credit: Word images by John Hain from Pixabay
You may also want to read:
- “Awareness Ribbons Chart: Color, Meaning, Causes.” Disabled World. https://www.disabled-world.com/disability/awareness/ribbons.php#google_vignette
- Angela Muir Van Etten. “Not Your Typical Mother’s Day Story.” Blog post, May 10, 2021. https://angelamuirvanetten.com/not-your-typical-mothers-day-story/
- Rev. Dr. Michael Woolf. “It’s OK to Not be OK.” Guest blog post. May 5, 2022. https://angelamuirvanetten.com/its-ok-to-not-be-ok/
One reply on “DISABILITY AWARENESS: A Years’ Worth in One Month”
👍🏻 Thanks