International Day of Persons with Disabilities - National Disability Day on December 3 is a day to help everyone become more compassionate and understanding of the challenges of having disabilities.

International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2024 – December 3, 2024

International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3 is a day to help everyone become more compassionate and understanding of the challenges faced by people with disabilities. The day doesn’t discriminate between mental and physical disabilities, and the spirit of the day is to ensure that all people in the world have equal opportunities for work, play, health, and success. People with disabilities can be and very often are contributing and valued members of society, and today is all about appreciating them.

International Day of Persons with Disabilities timeline

1960
Going for the Gold

The first official Paralympic Games were hosted.

1976
Great Decision

The United Nations made the decision that the year 1981 should be the International Year of Disabled Persons.

1992
Dedicated Day for the Disabled

The International Day of People with Disability was proclaimed by the United Nations.

2013
Better Schemes

Australia passed the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

How to Observe International Day of Persons with Disabilities

  1. Become an advocate for people with disabilities

    Look around your community and the places you frequent. If accommodations for people with disabilties are not in place, ask the shop owner, mall manager and/or your elected officials to install them.It’s the law.

  2. Lend a helping hand

    Inquire at your local senior center or residence, or of the nurses at an outpatient clinic, if they know of someone who needs assistance. Offer to help. Sometimes just delivering a medication, dropping off the mail, or picking up a few things at the grocery —simple tasks for you—would make the world of difference to someone with a disability.

  3. Show some compassion

    When you’re tired, harried and in a rush, you know you can sometimes be irritable. Don’t snap at someone who’s slowing you down,or take your frustrations out on them. They could be a person with a disability. If so, their lives are always like that, while your problems are probably fleeting. Likewise, don’t let any bad humor they exhibit ruin your day. This is when a smile can smooth everything over.

Why International Day of Persons with Disabilities is Important

  1. It builds awareness of people with disabilities

    People with disabilities sometimes feel invisible in our society. People rush around them in their daily routines, barely noticing them. Today, try to make eye contact and smile and be available to help should they seem to be having difficulties.

  2. We better understand the difficulties people with disabilities have

    The treasured parking space right in front of the pharmacy, the sloped curbs at intersections with the textured mats in place so the vision impaired folks can feel the curb end, the buttons to open doors automatically, even elevators on the Subway —are all in place to make a difficult life a little easier for a person with disabilities. Notice these accommodations today, and then notice how few of them there are.

  3. It’s more than a day —it’s the law

    The Americans with Disabilities Act was created to define the rights of people with disabilities and the design standards which businesses and municipalities must incorporate to comply with the law. Called the ADA, it is quite explicit in the standards required, and a familiarity with it could be most helpful to anyone in.

International Day of Persons with Disabilities dates

Year Date Day
2022 December 3 Saturday
2023 December 3 Sunday
2024 December 3 Tuesday
2025 December 3 Wednesday
2026 December 3 Thursday