PDF Arkansans with disabilities determined the need for this project through an assessment in 1999 to identify and prioritize issues important to people with disabilities.
It was determined that negative attitudes and stereotypical images are the main problems faced by persons with disabilities, keeping them from being fully included in everyday life. If the general public could view people with disabilities as productive, contributing members of society, focusing on what they “can do,” then all other issues would be easier to address.
Arkansas Can Do, Inc. was created in 1999 from the Community Advisory Committee of Partners for Inclusive Communities (Partners), which is a Department of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). Partners is Arkansas’ University Center on Disabilities. Additional individuals with disabilities, family members, and organizational representatives were invited to participate, and membership quickly expanded.
In 2007, the Arkansas Can Do Committee incorporated and became a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, Arkansas Can Do, Inc., allowing the organization to accept tax deductible contributions to continue promoting positive images of people with disabilities.