Your Go-To Resource for Disability Stories
The Arc is the largest national community-based organization advocating for and supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), such as autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. With a nationwide network and a deep bench of experts, we provide journalists with trusted insights, compelling stories, and essential background information on the most pressing disability issues. We can connect you with nationally recognized experts and people with lived experience to enhance your reporting.
Connect With Us
For interviews, background information, or expert commentary, contact:
📩 Jackie Dilworth, Director of Communications, at dilworth(at)thearc.org
Our experts can provide insights on a broad range of issues impacting the disability community, including:
- Medicaid & Social Security – The backbone of disability supports and services
- Special Education – Inclusion, equity, and challenges in schools
- Civil Rights & Policy – Disability rights, voting access, and legal protections
- Community Living & Institutionalization – The fight for inclusive, independent lives
- Criminal Justice & Victimization – Disparities, rights, and necessary reforms
- Employment – Barriers and solutions to workplace inclusion
- Assistive Technology & Innovation – Tools shaping the future of accessibility
- Family & Direct Support Professionals – The essential role of caregivers and the workforce crisis
- Self-Advocacy & Leadership – Empowering people with disabilities to lead
Need a perspective on another topic? We can connect you to experts across The Arc’s national network.
Find the Disability Angle in Your Story
Disability intersects with every beat—healthcare, politics, education, business, and culture. If you’re covering a topic, chances are there’s an important disability perspective to explore. We help journalists find these angles and source expert voices to strengthen their reporting.
People-First Reporting: Ethical & Accurate Coverage
Your reporting shapes public perceptions of disability. Media representation of people with disabilities lags far behind every other marginalized group. What’s more, negative stereotypes are alive in well in our society, and it’s easy for them to take hold of your piece, such featuring a person with a disability as a burden or source of inspiration, or reducing them to one aspect of their identity.
Use our guides and resources to ensure accurate, ethical, and impactful storytelling.
- Medicaid at Risk: What Cuts Mean for People With Disabilities—and All of Us
- A Journalist’s Guide to Disability for Elections
- 5 Disability Stories Journalists Should Be Covering (2024, 2023)
- National Center on Disability and Journalism:
- The Journalist’s Resource:
- Disability Matters: A Toolkit for Newsrooms
Language Matters
One in four adults in the U.S. have a disability, making it our nation’s largest minority group and the only one that anyone can join at any time. People with disabilities also have diverse and intersecting identities. That’s why the language used to describe people with disabilities is very individualistic.
Person-first language emphasizes the person, not the disability. By placing the person first, the disability is no longer the primary, defining characteristic of an individual, but one of several aspects of the whole person. Alternatively, identity-first language emphasizes a person’s disability as a core part of their identity.
When interviewing a person with a disability, you should always ask how they prefer to be identified. For most IDD communities, if your story doesn’t focus on one person, we recommend using person-first language. Within the autism community, many self-advocates prefer and appreciate the use of identity-first language (i.e., autistic person).
Why “Special Needs” is Outdated
“Special needs” is vague, outdated, and over time it has become offensive to many. People with disabilities often say they have human needs, not special needs. Please say “disability” in its place.
About The Arc
Founded in 1950 by families fighting for their children’s rights, The Arc has grown into a nationwide movement promoting and protecting the human rights of people with IDD. With nearly 600 chapters across 48 states and Washington, DC, we work to ensure full inclusion and participation in society.
Please note: The Arc should never be used as an acronym. Always refer to us as The Arc, not The ARC or ARC. The Arc should be considered as a title or a phrase.
The Arc in the News
The Arc’s experts and advocates are regularly featured in major outlets. Recent stories:
- Disabled Americans fear losing protections if states’ lawsuit succeeds (Washington Post)
- 11 Ways to Respond When Someone Insults a Loved One’s Disability (TIME Magazine)
- Why are people using the R-word again? (Mashable)
- How travel embraces neurodiversity (Travel Weekly)
- Why Medicaid cuts could be a ‘crisis’ for people with disabilities (STAT)
- Gus Walz broke the internet with his tearful love for his dad. Then the bullying began. (USA Today)
- “Caregiving is Not My Identity; It’s Just a Part of My Family’s Dynamic” (First for Women)
- Fifty Years Later: The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (Comcast Newsmakers)
- 50 Over 50: Impact (Forbes)
- The Supreme Court Just Opened the Door to the Criminalization of Disability (Slate)
- How to care for people in your life with intellectual disabilities (Vox)
- 27 Eye-Opening Quotes From People With Disabilities (Good Housekeeping)
- March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month (NBC News Daily)
- Special education advocates warn of ‘chilling effects’ from anti-DEI efforts (K-12 Dive)
- What Retirement Means for Parents of Adult Children With Disabilities (AARP)
- Social Security Overpays Billions to People, Many on Disability. Then It Demands the Money Back. (KFF Health News)
- The Other Work Remote Workers Get Done (The Atlantic)
- Oklahomans With Disabilities Face Long Waitlists For Home And Community-Based Services (PBS NewsHour)
- Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Nursing Home Patient Rights (Axios)
- Improving Law Enforcement Response to Persons With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities (Policing Matters Podcast)
- Democrats Seek To Expand Access To Home And Community Services For Disabled People (HuffPost)
- New Voting Laws Add Difficulties for People With Disabilities (New York Times)
- 5 Helpful Tips For Explaining Autism to Kids And Teens (INSIDER)
- Americans With Disabilities Need An Updated Long-Term Care Plan (NPR)
Press Releases
Resources
Find videos, fact sheets, publications, and more on a variety of topics.
The Arc promotes and protects the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and actively supports their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes.
