Asking for education is no insult:
I just got asked not to ask someone to educate themselves better on disability because they KNOW two disabled people...
I absolutely will ask people to educate themselves because people need to educate themselves on how harmful these narratives are on disabled people as a whole.
You can't assume they're faking - 0.1% fraud rates and 4.2 billion pounds annually in unclaimed benefits.
Your personal struggles doesn't justify misguided hate built on false narratives that use an assumed few to fuel hate for the masses.
I'm an independent disability advocate - I advocate FOR your disabled friends and relatives and with good reason - if you knew your words and assumptions harmed them would you change?
Disability varies from person to person and hate solves nothing.
Focusing on people who fake disabilities—or amplifying the fear that many are faking—creates a culture of suspicion that disproportionately harms genuinely disabled people. This scrutiny forces disabled people to constantly "prove" their disability to be believed or to access support, which can be invasive, exhausting, and dehumanising. Many disabilities, especially invisible ones (like chronic pain, neurological conditions, or mental health disorders), don’t have obvious external signs, making their legitimacy easier to question under these narratives.
This obsession also shifts attention away from real issues: improving accessibility, fighting discrimination, and supporting disabled people’s rights. Instead of addressing systemic barriers, public and policy discussions get stuck in gatekeeping and policing authenticity, which delays or denies help to those who need it.
In short, the myth of widespread faking weaponises doubt against all disabled people, increasing stigma, mistrust, and hardship, while the tiny number of actual fraud cases are extremely rare and already dealt with by existing systems.
Education is needed - it's no insult.
Sarah Wingfield ❤️
#disabilityawareness #welfarenotwarfare #accountability #accessibilitymatters
