IDD

Most people never get formal training in how to recognize a mental health crisis. That gap shows up everywhere: in schools, workplaces, and living rooms. But it shows up with particular weight in the intellectual and developmental disability community, where mental health needs are common and often overlooked. Here is the logic behind that. When a person has a diagnosed disability, it becomes easy to attribute almost anything, like anxiety, withdrawal, or a behavior change, t

Lindsey Spoon started a YouTube channel to talk about makeup. She's done her own since sixth grade, and Makeup and Mobility began as a place to review products and share tips. It didn't stay just a beauty channel for long. Scroll through her uploads now, and you'll find a Rare Beauty haul next to a video called "Let's talk about disability and depression." A review of a self-priming foundation sits a few videos away from her explaining how she handles a bad mental health day.

When you become the primary support for a grandchild with an intellectual or developmental disability, nobody hands you a manual. You inherit the role and the paperwork all at once. In recognition of Grandparents Day, we want to walk through what that looks like for grandparents raising grandchildren with IDD, and where to start. The shift nobody prepares you for You already raised your kids. You weren't expecting to sit through an IEP meeting, learn another set of acronyms,

Every July, Disability Pride Month asks a simple question: What does it mean to take pride in a life that includes disability, rather than despite it? For The Arc of Oklahoma, this is not a rhetorical exercise. It shapes how we advocate, how we talk about the people we serve, and how we ask our communities to show up. What does Disability Pride Month mean? Disability Pride Month traces back to 1990, the same year the Americans with Disabilities Act became federal law. The fir

This summer, America turned 250. Parades, fireworks, flags. A celebration of the ideals this country was founded on. Liberty. Justice. The belief that every person has the right to live a full life on their own terms. It is a good moment to ask whether we are living up to those ideals. For Oklahomans with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the answer is: we are getting there. But we are not there yet. Civil rights did not stop at disability The Americans with Disabi