Disability Reporting Resources and Expert Sources
The Arc of the United States is the largest community-based organization in the United States advocating for and supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families. We help journalists cover disability accurately by providing expert context, practical resources, and connections to people with lived experience.
What does IDD mean? Intellectual and developmental disabilities include disabilities that begin before adulthood and can affect learning, communication, and everyday life. Common diagnoses include autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, and Prader-Willi syndrome.
At a Glance
- Media contact: Jackie Dilworth, Director of Communications, dilworth(at)thearc.org
- Topics: Medicaid and Social Security, special education, civil rights, community living, disability and justice, assistive technology, family support, and more
- What we can provide: interviews, background briefings, data and context, and sources for stories
On deadline? We can quickly provide a quote, a short background call, or a referral to a local chapter/family.
Topics We Can Help With
- Medicaid, Social Security, and long-term services and supports
- Special education and IDEA, including inclusion and enforcement
- Civil rights and disability policy, including voting access and legal protections
- Community living and preventing institutionalization
- Disability and the criminal justice system, including victimization and needed reforms
- Employment and economic security
- Assistive technology and digital inclusion
- Family support and the direct support professional workforce
- Self-advocacy and disability leadership
Meet Our Experts
For interviews and background, we can connect you with:
- Katy Neas, Chief Executive Officer
- Shira Wakschlag, Senior Executive Officer of Legal Advocacy and General Counsel
- Robyn Linscott, Director of Education and Family Policy
- Claire Manning, Senior Executive Officer of Advocacy and Mobilization
- Leigh Anne McKingsley, Senior Director of Criminal Justice Initiatives
- Darcy Milburn, Director Social Security and Healthcare Policy
- Kim Musheno, Senior Director of Medicaid Policy
- Katy Schmid, Senior Executive Officer of National Programs
We can also connect you with people with disabilities, family members, and local chapter leaders for community and local perspectives.
Reporting on Disability: Accuracy, Access, and Respect
Disability intersects with every beat, including healthcare, education, politics, business, and culture. This section offers guidance and resources for accurate language, accessible interviews, and respectful coverage.
National Press Club Journalism Institute Q&A series
We partnered with the National Press Club Journalism Institute on disability reporting guidance, including tips for visuals, interviews, and language that avoids stereotypes.
- A guide to interviewing people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (May 2026)
- Elevating disability coverage beyond visual clichés (April 2026)
- Elevating disability coverage beyond outdated and harmful language (March 2026)
Reporting guides and newsroom tools
Reporting guides from The Arc
- Medicaid at Risk: What Cuts Mean for People With Disabilities
- A Journalist’s Guide to Disability for Elections
- 5 Disability Stories Journalists Should Be Covering (2024, 2023)
Reporting guides from journalism organizations
- National Center on Disability and Journalism’s Disability Language Style Guide and Resources for Journalists
- The Journalist’s Resource’s 4 Key Tips for Reporting On And Writing About People With Disabilities
- Disability Matters: A Toolkit for Newsrooms
Language and terminology, quick guidance
- Ask about communication preferences and needed accommodations before the interview. Offer options like email, chat, or extra time.
- Ask people how they want to be described and follow their preference (person-first or identity-first).
- Use a person’s specific diagnosis only when it matters to the story and only if the person chooses to share it.
- Avoid vague or outdated terms. For example, “special needs” is often experienced as dismissive and unclear.
- Avoid framing disability as a tragedy or inspiration. Focus on access, rights, barriers, and solutions.
About The Arc
Founded in 1950 by parents who wanted better lives for their children with disabilities, The Arc promotes and protects the human and civil rights of people with IDD. Its work includes public policy advocacy, legal advocacy, grassroots advocacy, public education, and programs focused on education, health care, employment, future planning, criminal justice, technology, travel, and community inclusion. The Arc also has a nationwide network of 549 state and local chapters that provide services, support, and advocacy in communities across the U.S. Find a local chapter here.
The Arc is a national organization with local chapters that can speak to state and community issues.
How to cite The Arc: The Arc should never be used as an acronym. Always refer to us as The Arc, not The ARC or ARC.
The Arc in the News
The Arc’s experts and advocates are regularly featured in major outlets. Here’s a look at recent coverage:
- ‘What if I die first?’ Making a plan is key for family caregivers. Here’s how. (NPR, March 2026)
- Families Defend Disability Services Amid Medicaid Cuts (KFF Health News, March 2026)
- Ed. Dept. Dismissed 90% of Discrimination Cases, Report Says (Word in Black, Feb. 2026)
- Newly expanded ABLE accounts create ‘powerful retirement’ tool for millions of disabled Americans (Yahoo Finance, Jan. 2026)
- Alabama Wants to Lower the Bar for Executing Disabled People—if SCOTUS Lets It (Mother Jones, Dec. 2025)
- Education Department layoffs hit offices that oversee special education and civil rights enforcement (Associated Press, Oct. 2025)
- Take Flight: Wings for Autism (TIME for Kids, Oct. 2025)
- Families push back on autism rhetoric: ‘We’re not a disease’ (Washington Post, Sept. 2025)
- ‘She’ll fall through the cracks’: Parents of kids with disabilities brace for new reality (The 19th, May 2025)
- Uproar as disability rights protesters in wheelchairs dragged out of House Medicaid meeting: ‘You’re going to kill me!’ (The Independent, May 2025)
- Why police still lack training to effectively respond to people with disabilities (PBS NewsHour, March 2025)
- The ‘R-Word’ is Back — And It’s Part Of A Disturbing New Trend (HuffPost, March 2025)
- Gus Walz broke the internet with his tearful love for his dad. Then the bullying began. (USA Today, Aug. 2024)
- The Supreme Court Just Opened the Door to the Criminalization of Disability (Slate, July 2024)
- How to care for people in your life with intellectual disabilities (Vox, May 2024)
- March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month (NBC News Daily, March 2024)
- What Retirement Means for Parents of Adult Children With Disabilities (AARP, March 2024)
- Social Security Overpays Billions to People, Many on Disability. Then It Demands the Money Back. (KFF Health News, Sept. 2023)
- Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Nursing Home Patient Rights (Axios, June 2023)
- New Voting Laws Add Difficulties for People With Disabilities (New York Times, Nov. 2022)
Press Releases
Resources
Find videos, fact sheets, publications, and more on a variety of topics.
The Arc promotes and protects the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and actively supports their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes.
