My disability exists not because I use a wheelchair, but because the broader environment isn't accessible.
From Stella Young
I use the term 'disabled people' quite deliberately, because I subscribe to what's called the social model of disability, which tells us that we are more disabled by the society that we live in than by our bodies and our diagnoses.
Apologies are great, but they don't really change anything. You know what does? Action.
I'm a full-time wheelchair user. And yet, given the right circumstances, I am able to work.
Disability doesn't make you exceptional, but questioning what you think you know about it does.
I've got the best job in the world; I love it. I get to meet so many interesting people, and I get to make sure that other people with disabilities can tell their own stories as well.
The thing about living with any disability is that you adapt; you do what works for you.
The battle to find a workplace that's wheelchair accessible is a feat in itself, let alone an employer who's going to be cool about employing someone with a disability in a job you actually want to do.
For me, and for many other people with disabilities, our status as disabled people is one of which we are fiercely proud.
Self esteem and a healthy body image for people with disabilities are so often hard-fought.
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