ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights the little attention that ethnic minority has received so far in the research literature pertinent to racial/ethnic minorities with disabilities in the United States. It provides educated guesstimates about the prevalence rates of disabilities among Arab Americans. The chapter also presents information regarding Arab American families having members with disabilities and disability in Arab culture, and it introduces some distinguished Arab Americans with disabilities. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the US federal law that governs the provision of special education and related services to children with disabilities, classifies disability into 14 categories: autism, deaf-blindness, deafness, developmental delay, emotional disturbance, hearing impairment, intellectual disability, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, specific learning disability, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, and visual impairment. Physical disabilities as defined in disability surveys in Arab countries are generally confined to paralysis and amputations.
