Disability Organizations List: Government and Private

Author: Ian C. Langtree - Writer/Editor for Disabled World (DW)
Published: 19 Apr 2011 - Updated: 21 Jun 2026
Publication Type: Informative

Contents: Synopsis - Definition - Introduction - Main - Insights, Updates - Related Publications

Synopsis: This information provides a categorized directory of government agencies, nonprofit charities, and advocacy groups across the United States that deliver help, support, and services to people with disabilities, their families, and the professionals who assist them. Arranged alphabetically for quick reference, the listing draws together long-established national bodies alongside specialized centers covering blindness, deafness, spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, accessible design, and independent living, making it a practical starting point for anyone seeking advocacy, legal protection, employment assistance, or community resources.

At a Glance

• 1 - Independent Living Centers (ILCs) number nearly 500 across the United States, operating as consumer-controlled, community-based organizations serving people with all types of disabilities.
• 2 - The listing includes the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), which offers free consulting on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and workplace accommodations.
• 3 - Several entries reflect their history, such as the Hearing Loss Association of America, formerly Self Help for Hard of Hearing People (SHHH), and TASH, formerly the Association for the Severely Handicapped.

Topic Definition: Disability Organizations

Disability organizations are government agencies, nonprofit charities, and advocacy groups dedicated to providing help, support, services, and legal protection to people with disabilities and their families. These bodies range from national civil rights and policy centers to condition-specific associations and local community service providers, and their work commonly includes advocacy, education, employment assistance, accessibility promotion, and the safeguarding of disability rights.

Introduction

List of Government and disability organizations providing help support and assistance for persons with disabilities. Our list of disability organizations also includes advocacy groups providing services to people with disability. Charity is defined as the means of giving help to those in need who are not related to the giver. Please see the following link for information and listing of charity groups.

Main Content

A

• Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing - The association is a nonprofit membership organization that was established in 1890 to empower people who are deaf or hard of hearing to function independently by promoting universal rights and optimal opportunities to learn to use, maintain, and improve all aspects of their verbal communications, including their abilities to speak, speech-read, use residual hearing, and process both spoken and written language.
• American Association of People with Disabilities - The American Association of People with Disabilities is the largest nonprofit, nonpartisan, cross-disability organization in the United States.
• American Council of the Blind - ACB is a national organization advocating on behalf of persons who are blind or have low vision.; ACB also publishes A Guide to Making Documents Accessible to People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired.
• American Foundation for the Blind - The mission of the American Foundation for the Blind is to enable people who are blind or visually impaired to achieve equality of access and opportunity that will ensure freedom of choice in their lives.
• Arc - The Arc (formerly Association for Retarded Citizens of the United States) is the country's largest voluntary organization committed to the welfare of all children and adults with mental retardation and their families.

C

• Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work - The Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work is a Canada-wide network of organizations and individuals that promotes and supports meaningful and equitable employment of people with disabilities.

D

• Deaf Initiative in Information Technology (DIIT) - The Deaf Initiative in Information Technology (DIIT) is a project of the Applied Computer Technology Department (ACT), of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology.; This project provides retraining workshops to deaf and hard-of-hearing adults already in the national workforce or preparing for employment in the information technology field, clusters these workshops into a certificate program, and modifies the workshops into undergraduate courses.
• Designing Accessible Communities - A nonprofit organization providing information and education about accessibility to people with disabilities and to professionals in the fields, of design, construction, code development and enforcement.
• Disability Gov - A one-stop inter-agency portal for information on U.S. Federal programs, services, and resources for people with disabilities, their families, employers, service providers, and other community members.
• DisabilityResources, Inc. - A national nonprofit organization that provides information about resources for independent living.
• Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund - Founded in 1979 by people with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities, the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Inc. (DREDF) is a national law and policy center dedicated to protecting and advancing the civil rights of people with disabilities through legislation, litigation, advocacy, technical assistance, and education and training of attorneys, advocates, persons with disabilities, and parents of children with disabilities.
• Disability Statistics Center - The Disability Statistics Center produces and disseminates statistical information on disability and the status of people with disabilities in American society and establishes and monitors indicators of how conditions are changing over time to meet their health, housing, economic and social needs.
• Disability Studies Quarterly - Disability Studies Quarterly (DSQ) is the journal of the Society for Disability Studies (SDS). It is a multidisciplinary and international journal of interest to social scientists, scholars in the humanities, disability rights advocates, creative writers, and others concerned with the issues of people with disabilities.
• Disabled American Veterans - DAV is a national organization advocating on behalf of veterans with disabilities.

E

• Easter Seals - Easter Seals creates serves children and adults with disabilities, their families and communities through early intervention and child development services, vocational training and employment services, and physical medicine and rehabilitation. Easter Seals has more than 400 service sites across the country, including Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
• Environmental Health Network - EHN's focus is on issues of access and developments relating to the health and welfare of the environmentally sensitive and to promote public awareness of environmental sensitivities and causative factors.

H

• Hearing Loss Association of America - (formerly Self Help for Hard of Hearing People (SHHH)) - The Hearing Loss Association of America is a national consumer organization representing people who are hard of hearing and provides technical assistance for selecting Assistive Listening systems.

I

• Institute for Human Centered Design - (formerly Adaptive Environments) - Founded in 1978 to address the environmental issues that confront people with disabilities and elderly people, the Institute for Human Centered Design (formerly Adaptive Environments) promotes accessibility as well as universal design through education programs, technical assistance, training, consulting, publications and design advocacy. Its mission is to promote, facilitate, and advocate for international adoption of policies and designs that enable every individual, regardless of disability or age, to participate fully in all aspects of society.
• Independent Living Centers - ILCs are typically non-residential, private, non-profit, consumer-controlled, community-based organizations providing services and advocacy by and for persons with all types of disabilities. There are nearly 500 ILC's in the USA. Many are state supported. Their goal is to assist individuals with disabilities to achieve their maximum potential within their families and communities. Also, Independent Living Centers serve as a strong advocacy voice on a wide range of national, state and local issues. They work to assure physical and programmatic access to housing, employment, transportation, communities, recreational facilities, and health and social services. This site provides a list, arranged by State.
• Institute on Independent Living - The Institute serves self-help organizations of disabled people who work for self-determination and equal opportunities; provides information, training materials and technical assistance on accessibility, personal assistance, advocacy, legislation and peer support; publishes articles, reports, manuals or comments and other materials related to Independent Living.
• International Commission on Technology & Accessibility - ICTA initiates, facilitates and provides information regarding technology and accessibility through the World Wide Web. This information is available to people with disabilities, advocates and professionals in the field of disability, researchers, legislative bodies, and the general community.

J

Job Accommodation Network - JAN - Free consulting on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), job accommodations, and the employability of people with disabilities.

N

• National Association of the Deaf - NAD is a national consumer organization representing people who are deaf and hard of hearing.
• National Disability Rights Network - The National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) is a voluntary national membership association of protection and advocacy systems and client assistance programs. It assumes leadership in promoting and strengthening the role and performance of its members in providing quality legally based advocacy services.
• National Federation of the Blind - NFB is a national organization advocating on behalf of persons who are blind or have low vision.
• National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities - The Center is a clearinghouse for information on disabilities and disability-related issues concerning children and youth (birth to age 22).
• National Organization on Disability - The National Organization on Disability promotes the full and equal participation and contribution of America's 54 million men, women and children with disabilities in all aspects of life.

P

• PACER Center - Nonprofit organization for families of children and adults with disabilities. The site includes newsletters, articles and legislative information.
• Paralyzed Veterans of America - PVA is a national advocacy organization representing veterans.

T

• TASH - (formerly the Association for the Severely Handicapped) is an international advocacy association of people with disabilities, their family members, other advocates, and people who work in the disability field.
• TDI - (formerly known as Telecommunications for the Deaf, Inc.) mission is to promote equal access in telecommunications and media for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, late deafened, or deaf blind.
• Through the Looking Glass - (TLG) is a nationally recognized non-profit agency that provides direct services, training, materials and research concerning families in which a child, parent or grandparent has a disability or medical issue.

U

• United Cerebral Palsy Association - UCP's mission is to advance the independence, productivity and full citizenship of people with cerebral palsy and other disabilities, through our commitment to the principles of independence, inclusion and self-determination.
• United Spinal Association - A membership organization serving individuals with spinal cord injuries or disease. Formerly known as the Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association, the organization expanded its mission to serve people with spinal cord injuries or disease regardless of their age, gender, or veteran status.

W

• World Institute on Disability - WID is an international public policy center dedicated to carrying out research on disability issues and overcoming obstacles to independent living.

Please contact us if you wish your organization, group, or charity, added to our listings.

Insights, Analysis, and Developments

Author Credentials: Ian is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Disabled World, a leading resource for news and information on disability issues. With a global perspective shaped by years of travel and lived experience, Ian is a committed proponent of the Social Model of Disability-a transformative framework developed by disabled activists in the 1970s that emphasizes dismantling societal barriers rather than focusing solely on individual impairments. His work reflects a deep commitment to disability rights, accessibility, and social inclusion. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and accomplishments, visit his full biography.