Through our bi-annual emerging scholar competition and student membership and perticipation in meetings, the society strives to engage young scholars in disability studies. Founded in 1982 as the Society for the Study of Chronic Illness, Impairment, and Disability the organization was renamed the Society for Disability Studies in 1986. SDS currently has a few hundred members from the US,Canada and other countries. An annual conference is held in June. The conference program typically includes plenary sessions with invited speakers, submitted paper panels, workshops, roundtables and social events.
Every effort is made to avoid an excessive number of concurrent sessions.
The yearly business meeting is held during the conference. Participation by SDS members is encouraged. The Society is commited to making its communications and environments accessible to all persons with disabilities.