At the Office of Disability Services, we value disability as yet another component of the incredible diversity found on our campus. Here, students, faculty, and staff can find information and resources to help achieve success at Rutgers.
Rutgers Disability Awareness Month
A Campus-Wide Celebration
Rutgers University is one of the most diverse institutions in the Big 10. Every October, we celebrate Disability Awareness Month, recognizing the vital role disabilities play in shaping our vibrant, inclusive community. Discover resources and actions to support accessibility, and learn how you can keep the conversation going all year long.
Host an Event
Help us commemorate the many contributions and experiences of people living with disabilities here at Rutgers by hosting your own in-person or virtual event. As you prepare your presentations and workshops, find tips to help make your event as accessible and engaging as possible.
Resources and Actions
Disability takes many forms, both apparent and non-apparent. Disability Awareness Month at Rutgers is an opportunity for our community to recognize, bring awareness to, and learn about disabilities and the disability community.
Our Disability Studies minor, launched in 2023, is designed to support an intrinsically interdisciplinary approach to studying the lived experience of disability and the theoretical frameworks that surround that experience.
Rutgers is a global leader in disability and employment research. Learn more about the Program for Disability Research in the School of Management and Labor Relations.
As an ally, you can take action and help cultivate an awareness of creating an inclusive environment for all individuals. Check out the Rutgers University Libraries' Books We Read blog series featuring books that highlight disability-related topics and written by authors with disabilities.
We're proud to be an Aira Access Partner, providing free around-the-clock, person-to-person visual interpreting services to anyone throughout the Rutgers–New Brunswick campuses. Students, staff, faculty, or visitors can use Aira for free on a smartphone simply by downloading the Aira app and connecting with an agent.
Telling Our Stories
True Grit, a first-of-its-kind residential summer camp at Rutgers, offers life-changing lessons and training for health care professionals.
Rutgers School of Dental Medicine has teamed up with Crossroads, a public school for children with autism spectrum disorder, to remove barriers to oral healthcare for students with high support needs.
The PASE program will prepare experienced special education teachers to become qualified leaders who oversee special education services.
Beyond the Field
Rutgers hosted its first Blind and Adaptive Sports Day in 2017 aimed at showcasing abilities, opportunities, and educating the community about sports for people with disabilities. Since then, the event has grown into a campus-wide effort to raise awareness about disability, access, and inclusion—on and off the field.
Looking Back at Disability Awareness Month
Disability Awareness Month is packed with in-person programs and virtual events. Each year, participants learn how to be allies, meet new furry friends, get active with adaptive sports, and more.
