I’m Sonia A. Rao, a disability reporter for The New York Times.
I started this role in June as a member of The New York Times’s 2025-26 fellowship class. My position was created through a partnership with the National Center on Disability and Journalism at Arizona State University to address a lack of coverage of disability issues in media.
Previous fellows have written stories about people under guardianship who cannot vote, survivors of gun violence who struggle with physical injuries, including lifelong paralysis, and the evolution of American Sign Language.
There is so much I want to write about. I have experience reporting on education and immigration, and am interested in how those topics intersect with disability issues.
This is a large and diverse community — approximately one in four Americans have some type of disability — with a vast range of experiences. Recent changes in federal policy are also impacting disabled people’s lives.
That’s why, as I start this position, I want to know what readers, especially people with disabilities, want to see more reporting about.
What is our coverage missing? Do you have a story that you want to share? Let us know.
Sonia A. Rao reports on disability issues.
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