#ADA25 Campaign: Using Social Media to Promote Participation, Social Inclusion, and Civic Engagement of People With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

Social media is used for civic engagement and building social inclusion. Twitter is one social media tool that facilitates conversations on important societal events. A digital divide between the general population and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) remains. Given the divide, we sought to understand the inclusion of the community of people with IDD in the conversations around the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). We conducted a content analysis of tweets associated with the anniversary and few tweets referenced the community of people with IDD. Our findings suggest that people with IDD are not included in larger civic conversations. Implications include targeted social media training for people with IDD and their support networks.