Library > June 2026

This page is organized by subject, you can also see links organized by country.

This update has 91 curated links from 34 countries and regions, organized across 34 subjects.

For discussion and reaction, see Difference is the starting point.

Contents

• Accessibility and Design
• COVID-19
• Civil Society and Community
• Climate Crisis and Environment
• Communication and Language
• Conflict and Peace
• Culture, Entertainment and Media
• Data and Research
• Digital Accessibility and Technology
• Disaster Risk Reduction and Crisis Response
• Economics and Social Protection
• Education and Childhood
• Employment, Business and Work
• Gender Equality and Women with Disabilities
• Health
• History and Memorial
• Humanitarian, Migrants and Refugees
• Independent Living and Deinstitutionalization
• International Cooperation
• Justice Systems and Legal Capacity
• Lived Experience and Opinion
• Mobility, Travel, Transport and Tourism
• Policy and Rights
• Politics and Elections
• Relationships, Sex and Reproductive Rights
• Sport and Paralympics

Accessibility and Design

Overview

International News

Neurodivergent (or neurodiversity-inclusive) standards for buildings. (May, OSA)

Bangladesh

Licences of restaurants, hotels will be cancelled if they don't have ramps and toilets for people with disabilities. (May, Prothom Alo)

Housing

Malta

Abela pledges €20,000 grant for persons with disabilities to buy their first home. (Apr, Malta Independent)

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COVID-19

Response

Vietnam

Access to and self-reported health impacts of COVID-19 prevention measures on people with disabilities in Vietnam:

“People with disabilities reported significantly worse well-being and healthcare access and faced greater barriers in accessing vaccination information and services despite similar vaccination coverage. These findings indicate that while high vaccination coverage is achievable, disproportionate structural barriers faced by people with disabilities call for inclusive, targeted strategies in future public health emergencies.” (Apr, BMC Public Health)

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Civil Society and Community

Iran

Disabled teacher Amir Rahimi sentenced to four years in prison in Azna, for participation in January protests. (May, Hengaw)

Türkiye

Those who are everywhere and nowhere: Toward an anti-capitalist disability movement: “Speed belongs to capitalism, life belongs to us.” (May, Bianet)

United Kingdom

Fearfully and wonderfully made: a report about the wellbeing of disabled and neurodivergent clergy in the Church of England. (Apr, Diocese of London)

Back tocontents.

Climate Crisis and Environment

International News

Inclusive education: the missing piece of the climate resilience. (Apr, Sightsavers)

United Kingdom

Air conditioning: the wealthy and well can afford it, but disabled people who need it most can’t. (May, the Guardian)

United States

Disability-Led Rural Climate Initiatives that are Making Change. (May, Disabled Journalists Association)

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Communication and Language

Overview

International News

Inclusive and accessible communication resource hub. (Fighting Talk)

Sign Languages

International News

Disney’s Songs In Sign Language Makes One Major Mistake:

“The biggest problem with Songs in Sign Language is how it takes a visual language like ASL and actually obstructs important lyrics. This can make it difficult for ASL users to truly comprehend what the lyrics are because the video doesn't properly translate them.” (May, Screen Rant)

Nepal

Nepal’s parliament is now accessible in sign language:

“The biggest challenge during live broadcasts is the absence of signs for many technical and political words. Discussions are underway on how to make such terms easier to explain.” (May, The Kathmandu Post)

New Zealand

AI avatars to deliver real-time NZ sign language translations. (May, 1News)

United States

A Deaf Manifesto on Motherhood. Interview with Sara Nović: “What is a mother tongue, and how do you get one? What if your mother has no tongue? What if you have no mother?” (May, Electric Literature)

Back tocontents.

Conflict and Peace

Lebanon

For Lebanon’s Disabled Community, War Has Deepened a Long Crisis. (May, DAWN)

Back tocontents.

Culture, Entertainment and Media

Overview

New Zealand

Spotlighting Aotearoa's disabled authors. A curation of 17 books by disabled New Zealand authors. (May, The D*List)

TV and Film

International News

Disney’s Songs In Sign Language Makes One Major Mistake:

“The biggest problem with Songs in Sign Language is how it takes a visual language like ASL and actually obstructs important lyrics. This can make it difficult for ASL users to truly comprehend what the lyrics are because the video doesn't properly translate them.” (May, Screen Rant)

Media

Denmark

Human on Air: profile of TV Glad. (In German, 2025, Journalist.de)

United States

How we’re celebrating Global Accessibility Awareness Day. “Our product and technology team has made it a priority for 2026 to audit and improve the accessibility of our digital products.” (May, The 19th)

Adaptive tech changes who gets to work in journalism. (May, The Word)

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Data and Research

Europe

Discrimination in everyday life for people with disabilities:

“In 2024, 9.4% of people with disabilities (activity limitation) aged 16 or over, in the EU, felt discriminated against when in contact with administrative offices or public services, more than double the share registered among people without disabilities (4.0%).” (May, Eurostat)

Back tocontents.

Digital Accessibility and Technology

Overview

International News

Apple unveils new accessibility features: “With Apple Intelligence, detailed descriptions and natural language navigation are coming to features such as VoiceOver, Magnifier, Voice Control, and Accessibility Reader”. (May, Apple)

Australia

Online Gaming and Emancipation: The Case of People with Physical Disabilities Communities of Practice:

“The first major finding related to the impact of anonymity as an empowering force and its potential emancipatory effects for PwPD as they traverse the online gaming world. In addition, the research also highlighted how this empowerment and increased confidence has the potential to transcend from the online world into offline spaces.” (Apr, International Journal of Disability and Social Justice)

Europe

Women with Disabilities in Digital and Tech. A report on experiences, analysis of barriers and policies that could address them. (2025, EPR)

Artificial Intelligence

International News

Building a general-purpose accessibility agent —and what we learned in the process. (May, The GitHub Blog)

The Web Is Being Made Accessible for AI, Not People:

“What these developers are offering their AI visitors is essentially an accessibility accommodation. Yet, the framing on Svelte’s site sends an unfortunate message. When the audience is AI, accommodation is offered with a wink. Beep boop! But when the audience is a disabled person, it has historically been treated as an afterthought. Structured, concise text-based representations of complex content are almost exactly the kind of accommodation that blind and low-vision screen reader users have spent decades requesting from web developers, largely in vain.” (May, TechPolicy.Press)

Staying Relevant as Disability Inclusion Advisors in the Age of AI:

“But AI cannot walk into a room and read the silence. It cannot notice when a program manager is uncomfortable discussing disability. It cannot sense when a partner is using polite language to hide institutional resistance. It cannot observe that a young person with a disability in the room is present but not participating because the facilitation method is not accessible. It cannot feel the difference between a partner who is genuinely committed and one who is only complying because a funder has asked for disability inclusion.” (May, Ambrose Murangira)

New Zealand

AI avatars to deliver real-time NZ sign language translations. (May, 1News)

Social Media

United States

What ‘Special Needs Mommy’ Influencers Get Wrong About Parenting Disabled Kids:

“Not only are these parents’ comments hurtful, but they’re often inaccurate: They rely on stereotypes more at home in an old-school Jerry Lewis telethon than on Instagram in 2026.” (May, Rewire News Group)

Back tocontents.

Disaster Risk Reduction and Crisis Response

United States

Disaster Preparedness (Still) Isn’t Accessible in Rural America. (Jun, Disabled Journalists Association)

Back tocontents.

Economics and Social Protection

Social Protection

United Kingdom

Health and disability benefit spending is already higher than defence spending:

“The OBR forecast working age health and disability benefits spending of £62.7 billion in 2025/26, increasing to £74.9 billion in 2028/29—both slightly higher than defence spending in these years.” (May, Full Fact)

United States

Getting disability benefits got harder after the Social Security Administration’s staff was slashed and program rules were changed by Trump. (Jun, The Conversation)

Disabled Adults Living with Families Targeted by Trump Administration. (May, Disabled Journalists Association)

Back tocontents.

Education and Childhood

Overview

International News

Disability Inclusive Education a dialogue:

“Most Inclusive Education frameworks start with the preservation of the norm, the mainstream classroom, the standard curriculum, and the typical developmental pathway for example, and then consider how children who deviate from the norm can be brought into it. A pluralist approach inverts this logic. Rather than asking how children with disabilities can access a pre-existing system, it challenges whether the system itself can be designed to reflect the diversity of the way children learn and interact. Difference is not a problem to be accommodated; it is the starting point from which education should be designed. This shifts the ideological framing from charity to justice, and from integration to transformation.” (May, Wilton Park)

Disability inclusive education is a right, not a funding choice. (Mar, The Education and Development Forum (UKFIET))

Germany

Alliance for a fairer school system is founded in Berlin:

“Berlin prides itself on being a cosmopolitan city, inclusion is touted in connection with the Olympics – but in education, the current Senate is further expanding segregation”. (In German, May, Taz)

Laos

Unmet Need for Disability-Related Services Among Children with Disabilities in Xiengkhouang Province, Lao PDR: A Cross-Sectional Study. (May, Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research)

Netherlands

Teachers are reluctant to strive for inclusive education. 'That would be wonderful in an ideal world, but that is not how it works.' (In Dutch, May, NRC)

Rwanda

Designing for Disability Inclusion. Insights from the ECCE Outcomes Fund in Rwanda. (2025, EOF)

Uganda

"Every child has the potential": how inclusive education is changing children’s futures in Uganda. (Video profile, Jan, Sightsavers)

United States

Screens are leaving schools fast, though some students with disabilities rely on them. (Jun, NPR)

RFK Jr. Will Oversee Disability Education Policy. (Jun, Mother Jones)

How the Moving of Special Education and Civil Rights Out of the Department of Education Will Hurt Disabled Students and What We Can Do. (Jun, DREDF)

How 13 High Schoolers Are Fighting The Bullying Crisis Facing Students With Disabilities. (May, Disability Scoop)

‘Makeshift Fight Club’: Arkansas Private School Founder Punished for Abuse of Disabled Student. (May, Disabled Journalists Association)

Native kids with disabilities were held in wooden boxes. Sweeping reforms are coming (May, NPR)

Higher Education

Iraq

Measures to support people with disabilities in completing postgraduate studies. (May, Iraqi News Agency)

Back tocontents.

Employment, Business and Work

Canada

Workplace accessibility for public servants with disabilities is progressing, with more to be done:

“Across all organizations audited, the time needed to respond to accommodation requests ranged from an average of 24 to 310 days. In the organizations that did not track their turnaround times, resolving requests took longer.” (May, Canada.ca)

Singapore

The hawker centre training programme empowering Singaporeans with disabilities. (Short video profile, Apr, SCMP)

United Kingdom

Employment support for disabled people: Disability at Work:

“We conclude that for too many disabled people the workplace is a hostile environment. If the government is serious about reducing disability-related economic inactivity, it must urgently address two of the main workplace barriers: the reluctance of employers to make reasonable adjustments, and the inaccessibility of workplaces, which leaves disabled people unnecessarily reliant on reasonable adjustments in the first place.

“We recommend that the government require employers to (a) respond to requests for reasonable adjustments within two weeks and, if a request is refused, to explain in writing the grounds for refusal, and (b) provide all new employees, whether they know them to be disabled or not, with information about the rights of disabled people at work, and of sources of support and advocacy.” (May, House of Commons)

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Gender Equality and Women with Disabilities

Europe

Active Inclusion & Equal Opportunities for Women & Girls with Disabilities. (2025, EPR)

Women with Disabilities in Digital and Tech. A report on experiences, analysis of barriers and policies that could address them. (2025, EPR)

United Kingdom

New EHRC Guidance Disability Rights UK’s Statement:

“We are appalled at implications from the Code that an adequate workaround is trans people using Disabled toilets instead. It is a vain attempt to get two marginalised groups to blame one another for our lack of facilities, when the blame lies firmly at the feet of policymakers. We will not fall for it. We will not be used as a ‘loophole’ in the wider erosion of trans rights.” (May, Disability Rights UK)

A Guide To Disabled LGBTQ+ Led Organisations. (Apr, Consortium)

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Health

International News

Associations between disability and tobacco use in 31 low-income and middle-income countries: a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data. The findings “indicated a higher likelihood of tobacco use among individuals with disabilities compared to those without disabilities.” (Apr, eClinicalMedicine)

Back tocontents.

History and Memorial

Iceland

Soaking with Your Subjects: Disability Microhistory as a Methodological Bridge Between Microhistory and Critical Disability Studies. (May, Scandinavian Journal of History)

United Kingdom

Disabled Empire: The Colonial Body in First World War Britain. (May, University of Chicago Press)

Zambia

In memory of Sylvester Katontoka the founder of Mental Health Users Network of Zambia (MHUNZA). (Validity)

Back tocontents.

Humanitarian, Migrants and Refugees

Migration

Ethiopia

Living the ‘Double Challenge’ of Displacement and Disability. A profile of advocacy for refugees living with disabilities. (May, The Reporter)

Spain

Children and dependent adults with disabilities can obtain residency alongside their parents. (Apr, InfoMigrants)

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Independent Living and Deinstitutionalization

Overview

Switzerland

Love to the point of hoping for death: the terrible secret of parents of adults with intellectual disabilities. (In French, May, Couper L'herbe Sous les Roues)

United States

Feeling invisible, many disabled caregivers also need support. “Over a third of family caregivers in the U.S. have disabilities — and are more likely to be caregivers than people without disabilities.” (May, The 19th)

Conditions in Institutions

United States

What being institutionalised taught me about resistance. And why these lessons come back as Trump attacks marginalised communities:

“It can feel like we must yield to those in power. But what the institutions of my childhood taught me is that obedience only gives permission for systems of exploitation to continue. When I had lost all other freedom, non-compliance reignited my will to survive.” (Jun, Disability Debrief)

Back tocontents.

International Cooperation

International News

Staying Relevant as Disability Inclusion Advisors in the Age of AI:

“But AI cannot walk into a room and read the silence. It cannot notice when a program manager is uncomfortable discussing disability. It cannot sense when a partner is using polite language to hide institutional resistance. It cannot observe that a young person with a disability in the room is present but not participating because the facilitation method is not accessible. It cannot feel the difference between a partner who is genuinely committed and one who is only complying because a funder has asked for disability inclusion.” (May, Ambrose Murangira)

Back tocontents.

Justice Systems and Legal Capacity

China

Judicial services made more accessible to nation's persons with disabilities:

“Recognizing Li's lack of hearing, the court quickly activated its fast-track service for disabled individuals. Using writing tablets and voice-to-text software, the court assisted Li in preparing his case, in which he sought 2,900 yuan ($426) in compensation for medical costs, bike repairs and lost wages, and prioritized the filing process. The court also arranged for a professional sign language interpreter through the China Disabled Persons' Federation and invited federation staff to assist with mediation.” (May, Chinadaily.com.cn)

India

When Detention Becomes Punishment Before a Verdict. “Structural inaccessibility in India’s criminal justice system violates the rights of persons with disabilities.” (May, OpenGlobalRights)

New Zealand

Disability Roadmap 2026. “From the New Zealand Crime & Victim Survey we know disabled people are on average 10% more likely to be a victim of a crime and are disproportionally represented in youth and prison facilities.” (Apr, NZ Police)

United Kingdom

‘The biggest rollback of disability rights in a generation’ Charities respond to Supreme Court ruling. (Jun, Mencap)

Back tocontents.

Lived Experience and Opinion

India

My Octopus takes me to the Neem Tree. Sleepless childhood nights and the beings that inhabited them: an illustrated essay. (Jun, Disability Debrief)

United Kingdom

Crip Time. Existing in a different temporal register as a disabled person:

“Disability routinely disrupts and forecloses the normative development timeline. We experience our education interrupted, our careers fragmented, and our relationships strained by the unpredictability of our bodies and minds. The questions of milestones, such as marriage and children, also become complicated or closed. Those milestones arrive late, in the wrong order, or are replaced by others entirely.” (May, Jamie Hale)

United States

Disabled Adults Find Gainful Employment and Live Independently With New RICH PARENTS™ Program. (Jun, The Squeaky Wheel)

Fine. I'll Say It. I'm Inspiring. Be Inspired By the Right Thing:

“I’m inspiring because I built a career inside a system that was designed to keep me out of it.” (May, Steve Way's Substack)

Warhammer 40,000 Is an Accessibility Battle:

“If anything, I’m almost thankful to Games Workshop for making me understand that relying on others is beautifully intimate, especially when living with a physical disability.” (May, IGN)

The Way Disabled People Love Each Other. A book by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha. (Arsenal Pulp Press)

Back tocontents.

Mobility, Travel, Transport and Tourism

Overview

United Kingdom

The politics of sitting down 140,000 Londoners with non-visible disabilities wear TfL's 'Please Offer Me A Seat' badge on public transport. Does it work? (Jun, Body Babble)

Air Travel

Nigeria

Polio Survivor Alleges Discrimination At Lagos Airport after being denied boarding after airline officials informed him that the Ambi-Lift was not functional. (May, Qualitative)

Back tocontents.

Policy and Rights

Argentina

The “phantom model”: rights that exist, but are not fulfilled. (In Spanish, Yo También)

Bahamas

IACHR raises concerns on immigration and poor implementation of disability law. (Apr, The Nassau Guardian)

Europe

Enhancing the strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities up to 2030. (May, European Commission)

Germany

A law that protects barriers. “The proposed reform of the Disability Equality Act is insufficient for those affected.” (In German, May, Taz)

India

Benchmarking disability inclusion: 10 years of SDG implementation in India. (Mar, Rising Flame)

New Zealand

Human Rights Commission calls for rights-based approach to Disability Support, condemns raft of rollbacks. (May, Human Rights Commission)

Saint Kitts and Nevis

St. Kitts and Nevis Launches First Disability Policy 2026-20. (May, Nevis News)

Saint Lucia

Norbert Moves to Make Accessibility Law with Disability Registry and Prosthetic Centre. (Apr, Saint Lucia Daily Post)

United States

How a legal challenge over gender dysphoria became a fight for disability rights. Republican AGs continue quietly pushing for a rollback of civil rights in Section 504 disability case. (May, The 19th)

Who gets to speak for mothers of autistic children? A key federal advisory committee has been reshaped around MAHA moms, raising questions about who gets heard in setting pivotal policy. (Apr, The 19th)

Zambia

The Limits of the Reasonable Accommodation Duty under Zambian Law: A Comparative Legal Perspective (Apr, International Journal of Disability and Social Justice)

Human Rights situation of Persons with Albinism in Zambia. (Jan, Africa Albinism Network)

Back tocontents.

Politics and Elections

United States

Josh Turek, a Paralympian, Wins the Democratic Senate Primary in Iowa. (Jun, New York Times)

The Populist Paralympian Who Wants to Roll Into the Senate. (May, Mother Jones)

Back tocontents.

Relationships, Sex and Reproductive Rights

United Kingdom

Choices and Support on the Maternity Journey in the UK: Voices from Women with Cerebral Palsy. (Apr, International Journal of Disability and Social Justice)

Back tocontents.

Sport and Paralympics

International News

Fifa criticized for ‘deeply concerning’ approach to ticketing for fans with disabilities. (Apr, the Guardian)

FIFA World Cup 2026™ to feature sign language interpretation for all matches, additional accessible experiences to help all fans enjoy the global showcase. (FIFA)

Back tocontents.