Our Mission

To advocate, promote, and implement policies and practices to create pathways to meaningful, integrated, and productive lives for people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities over the life course.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

The Washington State Developmental Disabilities Council is committed to making sure our work welcomes, involves, and benefits people from all backgrounds and identities. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • Race/Ethnicity
  • Language
  • Gender Identity
  • Sexual Orientation
  • Geography
  • Socioeconomic Status
  • Disability Identity
  • Service Eligibility Status
  • Religion
  • Citizenship Status
  • Family Compostiion
  • Age

A note about person-first and identity-first language:

The Developmental Disabilities Council acknowledges that words matter and while some people prefer identity-first language (e.g. disabled person), other people prefer person-first language (e.g. person with a disability). For the purposes of this website, we will use person-first language. However, we are committed to continuously learning and changing how we use language, and will always respect how people want others to speak about them.