Disability Pride Month

Every July, the city of Lake Oswego, Oregon recognizes Disability Pride Month with events throughout the city.

Disability Pride Month promotes acceptance of disability as an identity, community, and culture. It honors the history, achievements, and experiences of people with disabilities while challenging ableism and discrimination.

Disability pride is about embracing people with disabilities as fully human. It is not about denying challenges or “liking” one’s disability but rejecting shame and the idea that disabled people are less capable of contributing to society.

At Lake Oswego Public Library, we are proud to support Disability Pride Month with a growing collection of books by and about disabled people. These include works that reflect authentic disability experiences, often written by disabled authors themselves, avoiding stereotypes that reduce disability to plot devices or negative tropes. This month, explore our curated booklist that highlights diverse perspectives on disability:.


Updated June 24, 2025
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Access state-level health and demographic data about adults with disabilities.
Watch documentaries about the history of the disability rights movement and meet artists and families whose stories examine their disability experiences.

Although not yet officially recognized in the United States, since 2004 Disability Pride Month has been celebrated with parades in cities including New York, Chicago, Madison, and Los Angeles.

El deafo
Bell, Cece
Paper Book
Cece Bell's #1 New York Times bestseller graphic novel El Deafo is the origin story of a student with hearing loss and a hearing aid becoming a superhero.   Newbery Honor Winner * Now an Apple+ Animated TV Series!
Shouting won't help : why I--and 50 million other Americans--can't hear you
Bouton, Katherine
Paper Book
For twenty-two years, Katherine Bouton had a secret that grew harder to keep every day. An editor at "The New York Times," at daily editorial meetings she couldnt hear what her colleagues were saying. She had gone profoundly deaf in her left ear; her right was getting worse. As she once put it,...
Mermaid : a memoir of resilience
Cronin, Mary Eileen.
Paper Book
At the age of three, Eileen Cronin first realized that only she did not have legs. Her boisterous Catholic family accepted her situation as "God's will," treating her no differently than her ten siblings, as she "squiddled" through their 1960s Cincinnati home. But starting school, even wearing...
I'll scream later
Matlin, Marlee.
Paper Book
Critically acclaimed and award-winning actress Marlee Matlin reveals the illuminating, moving, and often surprising story of how she defied all expectations to become one of the most prolific and beloved actresses of our time in this powerful celebrity memoir. Marlee Matlin...
Song without words discovering my deafness halfway through life
Shea, Gerald, 1942-
Paper Book
Much has been written about the profoundly deaf, but the lives of the nearly 30 million partially deaf people in the United States today remain hidden. Song without Words tells the astonishing story of a man who, at the age of thirty-four, discovered that he had been deaf since childhood, yet...
A time to dance
Venkatraman, Padma
Paper Book
Padma Venkatraman's inspiring story of a young girl's struggle to regain her passion and find a new peace is told lyrically through verse that captures the beauty and mystery of India and the ancient bharatanatyam dance form. This is a stunning novel about spiritual awakening, the power of...

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