The Society for Disability Studies (SDS) is the only scholarly society devoted to disability studies as a field. Membership will keep you informed of developments in SDS, will empower you to vote on matters affecting the organization, and will link you to others in the United States and around the world who share your interests through our annual meetings and our membership directory.

The Society for Disability Studies (SDS) is an international non-profit organization that promotes the exploration of disability through research, artistic production, and teaching. Disability Studies encourages perspectives that place disability in social, cultural, and political contexts. Through our work we seek to augment understanding of disability in all cultures and historical periods, to promote greater awareness of the experiences of disabled people, and to contribute to social change.

Founded in 1982 as the Section for the Study of Chronic Illness, Impairment, and Disability (SSCIID), the organization was renamed the Society for Disability Studies in 1986. The Society maintains affiliation status with the Western Social Science Association (WSSA) through its Chronic Disease and Disability Section. SDS currently has several hundred members from the United States and other countries.

Contact Address
Joy Hammel, OTR/L, Ph. D., Executive Officer,
Society for Disability Studies
Department of Disability and Human Development
University of Illinois at Chicago (MC 626)
1640 W. Roosevelt Rd. #236
Chicago IL 60608-6904 U.S.A.
Office E-mail: hammel@uic.edu
Phone: (312) 996-4664 (Voice)
Fax: (312) 996-7743   More detail...