Six Trends Threatening People with Disabilities

And How People with Disabilities and Their Allies Can Respond Personally and Communally

Introduction

With rapid policy changes and fear-inducing news alerts flying in from all sides, it’s hard to separate hyperbole from real threats.

Here are six emerging trends that pose serious risks to people with disabilities, their family members, and other allies. These are not abstract political or ideological positions, they are meant to point out the real-world implications that affect the daily lives of our friends with disabilities.

My aim is bring clarity and help people understand what is likely coming and to be prepared.

I’m not an expert in any of these policies and each point deserves deeper discussion. And as much as I’d like to thoroughly unpack my thoughts and convictions here, I will limit them to a brief thought under each point on how Advocates (i.e. voluntary Do For One Advocates, family members, church members, etc.) can respond on a personal level, rooted in the approach of Do For One’s work. These insights I share by the way are always valuable, but they are especially urgent today.

My focus here is not so much on what I believe the government should or shouldn’t do. While that's an important discussion, it's not the main point I'm addressing here. The work I promote is about how we can respond on a personal and communal level in order to step up and fill the support gaps that are likely to appear.

In other words, this is not a guide to systems change advocacy.

My primary readers are Christians, and I want to emphasize that these issues also concern local churches. I encourage you to stay alert to these trends, explore ways to work together in support of those at risk, and see this as an opportunity to begin meaningful action to address disability related issues.

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NOTES:

Posted on May 14th, 2025. News may change beyond this point.

Corrections or updates are welcome in the comments.

Disability scoop is a helpful, mostly policy-focused, way to stay up to date.

If you feel called to engage in systemic advocacy, I encourage you to collaborate with families and individuals with disabilities who share that goal.

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1. Erosion of Disability Rights Guidance and Enforcement

In March 2025, the Department of Justice rescinded 11 guidance documents that had long helped institutions interpret and implement the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). These covered key issues such as service animals for the blind, hospital access, outdoor spaces, and business compliance.

While the ADA law itself remains in tact, like any law, it is only as good as it is enforced. Removing these clarifying documents introduces confusion and weakens enforcement, especially for businesses or institutions unsure of their obligations. Or ones that wish to avoid these obligations.

Meanwhile, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act which protects against disability discrimination in federally funded programs may also be affected by broader federal shifts in civil rights oversight and legal reinterpretations.

How we can respond:

As legal clarity weakens, enforcing disability rights may become harder, especially for those without strong advocates.

Let this serve as a reminder: It’s not primarily laws that protect people. It’s people who protect people. And we need to be ready to do that with even greater awareness and determination.

Reference this article and this article.

Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked."

-Psalm 82:3-4

2. Autism Research

The U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. launched a federal probe into autism’s causes, focusing on widely discredited vaccine theories. Respected researchers and advocacy groups have been excluded from the process. Their approach includes proposals to collect private health data and have further caused concern about stigma, privacy, and a harmful shift in how autism is understood.

This reflects a growing return to a stigmatizing and dehumanizing view of disability (e.g. seen primarily as a tragedy or something to be pitied) and muddying public understanding of autism.

How we can respond:

Let this national conversation be an opportunity for us to share our perspective that upholds the dignity of our friends with intellectual disabilities.

RFK’s primary focus seems to be on what some call “profound autism,” and some families are grateful that he has voiced their concerns. But for those of us who have been shaped positively by our friends with profound disabilities, we can work to shape a more hopeful narrative by not labelling autistic people as needing to be “fixed” or “cured” but people to embrace for what they bring to the world.

Reference this article.

3. Special Education Oversight Shift

The Trump administration is working to move oversight of special education from the Department of Education to the Department of Health and Human Services, as part of a broader plan to deconstruct the Education Department. Some fear this shift will weaken enforcement of students’ educational rights under IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) and risk a return to more segregated, less inclusive schooling for students with disabilities.

How we can respond:

While some see this as a chance for parents to have more flexibility for their child’s education, most see this as a cultural shift toward seeing disability through a medicalized lens rather than an educational framework, raising concern for how inclusion and human development is understood and practiced in schools.

While working to keep students with disabilities in the most integrative and competency-enhancing environments possible, let’s also explore how we can provide enriching extracurricular opportunities that expand their access to the arts, sports, and meaningful social connections, contributing to their development beyond the classroom.

Reference this article.

4. Federal Budget Cuts Looming

Medicaid

Congress is discussing (this week: May 14th 2025) between $625 billion and $880 billion in Medicaid cuts over the next decade. Despite what we hear, this will likely affect services for people with disabilities. These cuts would shift costs to states, leading to longer waitlists, reduced access, and a potential return to institutional care over community living.

“The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that at least 8.6 million people would lose health insurance coverage by 2034 with the proposed cuts and changes to Medicaid. Republicans also proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).” (reference here)

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NOTE: Medicaid is a joint federal and state program in the United States that provides health insurance coverage to low-income individuals, including children, pregnant women, elderly adults, and people with disabilities.

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Housing

In addition, the White House's proposed fiscal year 2026 budget significantly cuts funding for affordable housing and supportive services, slashing HUD's (Housing and Urban Development) budget by 45%. This is a $33 billion reduction from FY24. This move threatens the stability of over 5 million households, pushing many toward homelessness.

These proposals reflect a broader shift away from individualized support and a warning sign that community-based services will be deprioritized.

How we can respond:

These numbers are overwhelming to think about which is why I think our motto holds up in a moment like this: Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone.

Ask the people you know who may be affected what they are worried about right now and whether they need any help navigating the uncertainty and complexity of the situation. Watch the news updates closely and follow up with them in the weeks to come. Do what you can to help, even if it means letting them know they are not alone.

To every extent possible, we should help people remain in their supported homes, preventing them from being moved to nursing homes or other congregated settings. Not only because it’s a better living environment, ironically, it’s more efficient and cost effective.

Reference this article and this article.

Average cost per month:

5. Social Security and Other Access Issues

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) played a central role in the recent restructuring of the Social Security Administration by laying off 7,000 staff, shutting key offices, and limiting service access.

These changes disproportionately harm people with disabilities, who are more likely to rely on Social Security benefits (like SSDI and SSI) and often require personalized assistance to navigate complex systems.

For example, reduced staffing, fewer local offices, and the shift to in-person or online-only services create higher barriers for those with limited mobility, access to technology, or support networks.

How we can respond:

Whenever possible, sit down with those you love when they need to make important phone calls to the Social Security office and other places.

Assist them in navigating complex forms, help them endure long wait times, and be prepared to be a voice with and for them so they don’t slip through the cracks or lose their benefits if they are entitled to them.

Reference this article.

6. Public Attitudes

DOGE has eliminated federal DEI offices, rescinded anti-discrimination orders, and deleted government websites of terms like “inclusion” and “person-centered.”

For disability advocates and service providers, “person-centered” means that the needs and interests of the person being served take priority over the goals of the agency or service providers. This concept emerged after decades of people with disabilities being voiceless and confined to large institutions with little to no chance of leaving.

As these terms and phrases are erased from federal agencies and other policy documents and businesses, our commitment to human dignity becomes all the more vital.

How we can respond:

We must remember that we can still advocate for human dignity, even without using certain phrases some have found helpful in our formal documentation. So don’t let these orders cause you to lose sight of the deeper moral meaning behind the words that drive you to promote human dignity.

In addition to the removal of these terms, we have recently heard R.F.K. Jr. describe autism as something that "destroys families" and that they will “never play baseball” or “go on a date.” We are also witnessing a resurgence of the "R" word, used as an insult in condescending contexts by figures like Elon Musk and other provocateurs.

How we can respond:

Talk to the people you know affected by disability and let them know you see them and that their lives are not tragedies to grieve but lives to be embraced for all they have to offer.

Commit, with greater intensity of love, to fostering the relationships you have with people seen as burdens to our society.

Reference this article.

In Conclusion: Freely-Given Relationships Endure

In Jeremiah 29:7, we read, “… seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it.”

In case you need an incentive: why should you and I care to do that?

“…because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

When we see efforts to erode accessibility, weaken protections, and undermine certain human beings based on their perceived capacities, we are witnessing a cultural drift toward devaluing life itself.

In the end, it hurts all of us.

We all grow older, and all of our chances of experiencing disability is increased. Our need for the care and support of loved ones becomes more essential. Let us respond with fervent prayer and by loving others the way we would hope to be loved if we found ourselves in a similar situation.

I understand that we will disagree on specific policy details or relatively minor issues, but we must recognize a larger, interconnected pattern. Disabled people are not the only marginalized group under threat right now. And it’s a troubling reality that extends beyond politics and goes through the very air we breathe.

Amid countless moving and seemingly separate trends, we must recognize the single shadowy image that emerges: the enemy of life itself. Though it lures many individuals in, it is a force much greater than any one person or group.

From a Christian perspective, we are reminded of this reality: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

Therefore, we must set aside minor disagreements and unite in resisting dehumanization, standing firmly for the dignity of all human life.

"The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’"

-Matthew 25:40

In reflecting on Do For One given our cultural moment, I’ve come to see our work as a form of doomsday planning. This isn’t meant to sound dramatic. I say this because when all else fails, when systems and institutions are stripped away, what remains are freely-given relationships.

It’s what we choose to do for one another on a person-to-person level, without waiting for permission or payment, that truly endures. These relationships are not just a pathway back to justice and an anchor to support us through uncertainty, but they are the only hope that enables us to avoid injustice in the first place. No matter what happens, our willingness to see, serve, and stand with one another is the clearest measure and greatest hope for a more humanizing approach to justice and mercy.

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