The majority of people with disabilities want to be totally integrated into all aspects of society. With more awareness, respect, and helpfulness, you can make someone's life a little bit easier. People don't plan on getting disabilities, but it happens every day. One day, that disabled person may even be you.

TAKE ACTION TODAY

1. Show respect to the disabled today.
2. Don't park in a handicapped parking space or use handicapped plates or placards illegally. Designated parking for the handicapped is a necessity for them, not an opportunity for you to save yourself a few steps.
3. Don't use handicapped bathroom stalls unless you're handicapped. A handicapped person's need to use the restroom may be just as urgent as yours, and it often takes them longer to prepare to use the facilities.
4. Drive cautiously and courteously. When you see a handicapped license plate, slow down and show consideration rather than tailgating or honking.
5. Help people who need assistance by opening a door, rolling a wheelchair up or down an incline, carrying shopping bags, or offering an arm in challenging weather conditions or on uneven walkways.

FACTS

• 1 in 6 people aged 5 and older, 54 million people, have a non-institutionalizing disability.
• 25 million disabled are of an employable age.
• 78% want to be employed, but only 33% have a job.
• Disabilities are more often acquired from accidents, illnesses, or late-emerging effects of genetics than by congenital disorders.
• Not all severe disabilities can be seen with the human eye.
• Over 15% of the cars parked in a handicapped parking space are parked illegally.