In 1987, President Ronald Reagan declared March as National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month! While we strive to raise awareness every day for the many people who have developmental disabilities, we use the month of March to bring added focus on the important mission of making society more inclusive for all.

This year, our theme for National Developmental Disability Awareness Month is #JustAskMe. The idea for this theme came from a story we featured earlier this year about siblings Rachel and Mathew. During the interview, Rachel was asked what she wished people knew about EB and she said, “I wish they knew it wasn’t contagious and that they’d be brave enough to ask about it.” And the idea of #JustAskMe was created.

Throughout the month you will see DCBDD end the “just ask me” phrase with things like: about my job, to play, to be your friend, or for help. The goal of the #JustAskMe campaign is to open the lines of communication between people with and without disabilities, encouraging people to engage in genuine conversations.

People with disabilities are people first and should not be defined by their disability. At the end of the day, we all have similar wants, needs, and dreams. It is our hope that the #JustAskMe campaign shows we are more alike than we are different.

Take the challenge! #JustAskMe