Hot on the heels of Pride month, is Disability Pride month. A month for the disability community to celebrate being themselves. I first heard about Disability Pride Month in 2021, and I will be honest - I wondered what there is to be proud of for being disabled. This was my internal ableism coming out.
Two years on, and I can honestly say that I accept who I am, and I am proud to be me. My sight loss is part of me and for all the frustration as I find new ways to do things, I must say that I have gained so much more from being blind than I have lost.
This article from the fabulous Keely Cat-Wells explores what your role is during Disability Pride Month. Enjoy the read and take up your role in supporting the disability community this July.
The day I was discharged, I found the spaces that had once welcomed me unthinkingly, now confronted me with barriers that felt insurmountable. Doors I had previously breezed through, now seemed to scoff at my attempt to traverse them. In the blink of an eye, my perspective shifted, the world as I knew it irrevocably altered. It was the revelation that, while I was privileged to have been oblivious to these challenges in the past, I should have been aware and proactive much earlier. My experience is not an isolated one, one in four people are Disabled, and 80% of disabilities are acquired between the ages of 18 and 64
unknownx500
