The Ultimate List of U.S. and International Disability Awareness Days

Disability awareness days, weeks, and months have been initiated by various governments and organizations to raise awareness about conditions that affect the lives of children and adults worldwide. If you or a loved one has a disability, these dates provide a terrific opportunity for participating in fundraising events and teaching others about these conditions.

Please note: To keep the list succinct, we've selected the most well-known disability-related dates that are relevant internationally and in the United States. If you have a disabling condition that you don't see here, let us know so that we can add the relevant awareness day, week, or month to the list!

January

January is:

  • National Birth Defect Awareness Month

  • National Glaucoma Awareness Month

  • Healthy Weight Awareness Month

Awareness Days in January

  • January 4 - World Braille Day (International)

  • January 11 - Paget's Disease Awareness Day

  • January 24 - Moebius Syndrome Awareness Day

  • January 30 - Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Awareness Day

  • Last Sunday in January - World Leprosy Day (International)

February

February is:

  • Low Vision Awareness Month

Awareness Weeks in February

  • 1st week of February - Tinnitus Awareness Week

  • February 7-14 - Congenital Heart Defects Awareness Week

Awareness Days in February

  • February 2 - Rheumatoid Arthritis Day (this is a great day to give a loved one of our recommended gifts for people with arthritis)

  • 2nd Monday in February - International Epilepsy Day

  • February 14 - Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day

  • February 15 - International Angelman Syndrome Day

  • February 22 - World Encephalitis Day

  • February 27 - Anosmia Awareness Day

  • February 28 (29th in a leap year) - Rare Disease Day

March

March is:

  • National Brain Injury Awareness Month

  • National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month

  • National Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) Awareness Month

  • National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

  • National Essential Tremor Awareness Month

  • National Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month

  • National Trisomy Awareness Month

Awareness Weeks in March

  • 2nd week of March - World Glaucoma Week

Awareness Days in March

  • March 1 - Disability Community Day of Mourning

  • March 1 - International Wheelchair Day

  • March 3 - World Hearing Day

  • March 4 - National Brain injury Awareness Day

  • March 12 - World Glaucoma Day

  • March 21 - World Down Syndrome Day

  • March 25 - National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day

  • March 26 - Purple Day for Epilepsy

April

April is:

  • Autism Awareness Month

  • Limb Loss and Limb Difference Awareness Month

  • Paralyzed Veterans Across America Month

  • Parkinson's Awareness Month

  • Sarcoidosis Awareness Month

Awareness Days in April

  • April 2 - World Autism Awareness Day

  • April 6 - Bohring-Opitz Syndrome Awareness Day

  • April 7- World Health Day

  • April 11 - World Parkinson's Disease Day

  • April 13 - Functional Neurological Disorder (FND) Awareness Day

  • April 19 - Global Porphyria Day

  • April 29 - World Wish Day

  • Every last Wednesday of April - International Guide Dog Day

May

May is:

  • ALS Awareness Month

  • Better Hearing and Speech Month

  • Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month

  • Ehlers-Danlos Awareness Month

  • Fibromyalgia Awareness Month

  • Huntington's Disease Awareness Month

  • Lupus Awareness Month

  • Lyme Disease Awareness Month

  • Mobility Awareness Month

  • Myositis Awareness Month

  • National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month

  • Older Americans Month

  • Prader-Willi Syndrome Awareness Month

  • Williams Syndrome Awareness Month

Awareness Weeks in May

  • 1st full week of May - Deaf Awareness Week

  • A full week in May - International Face Equality Week

Awareness Dates in May

  • May 5 - International 5p Syndrome Awareness Day

  • May 6 - International Day for Osteogenesis Imperfecta

  • May 12 - International Awareness Day for Chronic Immunological and Neurological Diseases (CIND)

  • 3rd Thursday in May - Global Accessibility Awareness Day

  • May 20 - World Autoimmune Arthritis Day

  • May 30 - World Multiple Sclerosis Day

June

June is:

  • Aphasia Awareness Month

  • Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month

  • Hemiplegic Migraine Awareness Month

  • Audiobook Appreciation Month (audiobooks are a vital accessibility resource!)

Awareness Weeks in June

  • 3rd week of June - Learning Disability Week

  • Last week of June - Helen Keller Deafblind Awareness Week

Awareness Days in June

  • June 13 - International Albinism Awareness Day

  • June 17 - CDKL5 Awareness Day

  • June 18 - Autistic Pride Day

  • June 21 - Global Day of Recognition of ALS/MND

July

July is:

  • Disability Pride Month

  • National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness and Prevention Month

  • National Fragile X Syndrome Awareness Month

  • National Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month

Awareness Weeks in July

  • 2nd week of July - National Therapeutic Recreation Week

Awareness Days in July

August

August is:

  • Spinal Muscular Atrophy Awareness Month

Awareness Days in August

  • August 21 - National Senior Citizens Day

September

September is:

  • Craniofacial Awareness Month

  • International Orthostatic Tremor Awareness Month

  • National Guide Dog Month

  • National Pain Awareness Month

  • National Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Month

  • World Alzheimer's Disease Month

Awareness Weeks in September

  • Last week of September - International Week of the Deaf

Awareness Days in September

  • September 9 - International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness (FASD) Day

  • September 18 - National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day

  • 3rd Saturday in September - Usher Syndrome Awareness Day

  • September 21 - World Alzheimer's Day

  • September 25 - International Ataxia Awareness Day

  • September 30 - Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy Awareness Day

October

October is:

  • ADHD Awareness Month

  • Down Syndrome Awareness Month

  • Dwarfism Awareness Month

  • Dyslexia Awareness Month

  • Learning Disability Awareness Month

  • National Disability Employment Awareness Month

  • National Disability History Month

  • National Special Needs Law Month

  • Selective Mutism Awareness Month

  • Spina Bifida Awareness Month

Awareness Weeks in October

  • Begins first Monday of October - Dyslexia Awareness Week

  • 2nd full week of October - Dyspraxia Awareness Week

  • 3rd full week of October - Invisible Disabilities Week

Awareness Days in October

  • October 5 - American Veterans Disabled for Life Awareness Day

  • October 5 - World Meningitis Day

  • October 6 - World Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day

  • The Thursday during Dyslexia Awareness Week- World Dyslexia Awareness Day

  • October 7 - International Trigeminal Neuralgia Awareness Day

  • 2nd Thursday of October - World Sight Day

  • October 15 - Blind Americans Equality Day/White Cane Awareness Day

  • October 20 - World Osteoporosis Day

  • 3rd Wednesday of October - Disability Mentoring Day

  • October 22 - International Stuttering Awareness Day

  • October 29 - World Stroke Day

November

November is:

  • 22q Awareness Month

  • Epilepsy Awareness Month

Awareness Days in November

  • November 8 - Aicardi Syndrome Awareness Day

  • November 11 - Veterans Day

  • First Tuesday after Thanksgiving - Giving Tuesday

December

December is:

  • HIV/AIDS Awareness Month

Awareness Days in December

  • December 1 - World AIDS Day

  • December 3 - International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Action Ideas for Marking Awareness Dates

Because there are so many awareness events each year, many people focus on a disability or health condition that affects them personally or that affects someone in their family or network. After choosing one or two dates, think about an action that would be accessible and meaningful for you to do on that day.

  1. Donate a mobility device such as a cane, rollator, mobility scooter, or wheelchair to a charitable organization. You can also donate a used wheelchair lift and many of the other types of accessibility equipment that we sell at our Denver, CO showroom.

  2. Attend a fundraising event, host a fundraising event, or make a charitable donation to a nonprofit that funds research about the condition or helps people who are living with the condition.

  3. Wear a T-shirt, put a bumper sticker on your vehicle, or share a post on social media to help raise awareness about the condition in the community.

Check out our post about top disability awareness activities if you need ideas for your workplace.

Disability Awareness Days Really Can Make a Difference

Whether you celebrate one awareness day or all of them (if you do, please let us know so that we can write an article about you!), it's encouraging to know that awareness events really do make a difference.

  1. The funds raised on awareness days help to further research into prevention and treatments.

  2. Donations of durable medical equipment improve the lives of people who live with disabilities.

  3. Increased awareness helps employers, educators, and lawmakers understand the need to make allowances for people with rare or invisible disabilities.

Most important of all, awareness events and dates help people with various disabilities feel acknowledged and valued. And sometimes, simply feeling acknowledged and valued makes the biggest difference of all.