PGP / SPD My story:

Disability Didn’t Become “Cool” — Disabled People Became Visible A recent Telegraph article titled “How having a disability became cool” describes young women with chronic illnesses and disabilities as “ sickfluencers ” and links rising diagnosis, social media visibility, SEND support and disability benefits with ideas around overdiagnosis, identity and economic inactivity. As someone who has advocated for disabled people for more than two decades, I find that framing deeply concerning. There are valid conversations to be had about online misinformation, people selling questionable health advice, undisclosed advertising and the risks of self-diagnosis. Those things should absolutely be challenged. But that is very different from casting suspicion over disabled people as a whole. Women with POTS, autism, ADHD, chronic pain, ME/CFS, EDS and other less-visible conditions are repeatedly positioned as though increased awareness and diagnosis may itself be evidence that something has gone w...

THIS ATTITUDE IS EXACTLY WHAT I AM TRYING TO CHANGE. There is a very important difference between disagreeing with somebody and making personal assumptions about their disability, finances, ability to work, relationship, motives and character. An alternative opinion is not bullying. Defending yourself is not bullying either. But repeatedly presenting assumptions as “facts” without actually checking whether they are true is not constructive discussion. The original issue here was disability, benefits and the harmful assumptions disabled people are routinely subjected to. Somehow that became speculation about my partner, my income, whether I “should” be working full-time, accusations of having an “agenda”, references to racism that were completely unrelated to the discussion, and judgement about how I spend my time. That is precisely the attitude I advocate against. Disabled people do not owe strangers a breakdown of their medical history, finances, capacity for employment or personal ci...

Harassment Isn’t Resolution: There’s something I’ve learned — and been reminded of again recently: not everyone wants resolution . Some people want control of the narrative. I entered a conversation about disability, ableism, and respect — a conversation that should have been rooted in understanding, nuance, and lived experience. Because disability is not a competition. Pain is not a hierarchy. And comparing people’s struggles to minimise them is, and always will be, harmful. So I said that. I spoke from lived experience as someone who is AuDHD. I clarified my intent, explained that tone can be misread in text, and asked for kindness, for clarity, for basic respect. That should have been enough. But instead of engaging with what I actually said, the focus shifted — not to the message, but to me. Suddenly, I wasn’t someone raising a valid point. I was “high”. I was “dangerous”. I was “abusive”. And when someone stops addressing your words and starts attacking your character, your health...

Ableism Isn’t “Semantics” — It’s Harm.  Being an advocate really gets people's backs up, asking for kindness seems to be the new target as people freely enable abuse and harm and name call, be bitter and get personal; defend that but get abusive and mad when someone asks for basic respect. The amount of hypocrisy and lack of accountability is atrocious. I was kindly explaining ableism recently, (wanting people to stop comparing struggles as a means to ridicule, belittle, query or just be outright awful about others different struggles.) and I became a target of people who failed to fact check, gain clarification and just said the most personal and derogatory things whilst simultaneously agreeing with me without even realising it, and others were outright ableist. Period. I don't use that word lightly - ableism. It's a legitimate form of abuse and needs challenging. All struggles are valid. 💯 One of the worst comments I've come across, and I've legitimately blocked ...

I’ve just had to block an artist I previously supported because they refuse to understand the role AI plays in disability and accessibility. You’re absolutely entitled to your opinion. What you’re not entitled to do is weaponise that opinion to attack disabled communities — especially while actively using AI-merged platforms yourself. That’s not principle. That’s hypocrisy. AI, for many disabled people, is not a shortcut. It’s an access tool. It bridges gaps that the world still refuses to close. If you want to critique technology, do it honestly. But don’t disguise hostility toward disabled access as some kind of artistic purity stance. Find a new excuse — because targeting disabled people for using accessibility tools isn’t it. Accessibility is not something I should ever have to publicly justify. Yet somehow, the most uninformed and judgemental voices are the loudest in demanding disabled people be scrutinised to “prove” what we need. I’m not participating in that. If you don’t unde...

Ablesplaining : They don’t start by listening. They start by correcting. Not the harm. Not the abuse. Not the behaviour that caused the reaction. You. This is what ablesplaining looks like in real life — lived, not theorised: • Being told how my disability affects me by people who don’t live in my body. • Being instructed to “calm down,” “log off,” or “take a break” instead of having harm addressed. • Having my communication scrutinised while abusive behaviour is excused or minimised. • Being spoken over when I name discrimination, as if I lack insight into my own lived reality. • Being framed as “too emotional” the moment I speak with confidence and clarity. For disabled women especially, advocacy is quickly reframed as aggression. Boundaries become “attitude.” Self-defence becomes “harassment.” Disability does not mean: – lack of awareness – lack of intelligence – lack of authority – or needing non-disabled people to explain our lives back to us I already understand my condition. I a...