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AAPD Focus Group Interest Form: English

Are you dealing with a health condition, or an aging or changing body or mind?
Are you someone who’s navigated the world in a way that feels different or overlooked? You can help us build a program that will help people with similar experiences.
Our Goal:
AAPD wants to better understand people’s experiences related to their condition or changing body or mind. From your discussions in our focus groups, we will create a learning program that will help people reflect on what they’re going through. People will learn about different systems out in the world — such as healthcare, employment, and housing. We can see how these systems contribute to the problems we face every day and find new ways forward.


The Vision:
Through this new program, we want to provide the tools and the space to process what you can do to make things easier for yourself and for others. We hope people leave the program feeling more agency over their lives. We want people to be empowered with knowledge to take action and improve their quality of life.


Who Should Join a Focus Group:
There are a wide variety of people who we want to get input from. In particular, our focus groups want to highlight the experiences of people who have long-term conditions but don’t identify as disabled.

For example, you might be a good fit if:
  • You’re a person of color navigating a health condition, mental health struggles, or chronic pain. Because of your race, accessing support in healthcare or services can make things harder.
  • Your life changed in a moment through a car accident, injury, gun violence, or a medical emergency. You’re still figuring out how to adjust to your new normal.
  • You are someone returning from jail or prison. You're dealing with conditions that are physical, mental, or emotional, maybe even caused from your time inside. As you return to life outside of jail or prison, navigating your health amidst all the other barriers might feel overwhelming.
  • You just got a new diagnosis, and are trying to figure out what this means for you.
  • You’re an immigrant, migrant, or refugee with a health condition. Navigating systems of support are even more challenging due to language barriers or fear related to immigration status.
  • You worry you might not be “disabled enough,” but actually you are exactly who we want to hear from!
Focus groups will highlight specific groups and experiences. We will have focus groups including the following communities and experiences:
  • Black/African American
  • Asian American
  • Latine
  • Formerly incarcerated
  • Immigrant/migrant/refugees (English or Spanish)
  • Intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD): In-person in Washington, DC
  • Trauma-related conditions
About the Focus Groups:
  • Format: Conducted over Zoom (except for the focus group for people with IDD which will be in-person in Washington DC).
  • Length: 90-minutes long.
  • Focus: Focused on the specific group’s shared experiences.
  • Goal: Help envision what this new program could look like.
  • Facilitator: Most of the groups will be facilitated by guest facilitators that belong to the community of focus.
  • Language Access: One of the focus groups for immigrant, migrants, and refugees will be conducted entirely in Spanish.
  • Privacy: The names of the participants will be kept private and the transcript will not capture name information. The consent forms will not indicate which focus group you attended. Only AAPD staff and facilitators will have access to the raw data.
  • Payment: $100 gift card after completion of the focus group.
Sign Up Using this Interest Form!

Share your interest in any of the groups using this interest form. We will reach out over email with an invitation to a specific focus group if it seems like you’d be a good fit. From there you can accept or decline participation based on your availability.


If you have any questions or need help, you can email us at learning@aapd.com or call 202-521-4316.