Chloe : "My name is Chloe Sargeant (she/they), and I’m a Sydney-based writer and podcaster, and a non-binary person who lives with a dynamic disability. I have a chronic illness called fibromyalgia (a nervous system condition that affects my mobility, cognition, mental health and more – there’s honestly too many to list 😅) when I was 19. It took me years to finally get a diagnosis, and took me even longer to celebrate that I was a person with disability. 

‘Disabled’ seemed like a big, terrifying word that I was scared of using. It took me a fair while, and plenty of work, to get used to the word and finally feel comfortable with using it. But this didn’t happen overnight. After talking to some friends who are also people with disabilities, I decided to try some of their suggestions to figure out how to feel ~at one~ with the ‘D’ word, and find some sense of pride in my identity.

In the last few years, I’ve started regularly using the big scary ‘D’ word. I refer to myself as a disabled* person, and acknowledge and celebrate my disability as a key part of my identity. And I’ve been learning more and more about how to love and celebrate my disability pride ever since. 

Celebrating who I am as a disabled person and sharing my disability pride has been a huge benefit to my mental wellbeing. Unlearning the ableism that society teaches us, and learning how to love my disabled body and neurodivergent mind is a big journey – but I’m so glad I took that first step, and I’ve never looked back.

So, let me pass on my tips on how you can take that first step to engaging with disability pride, or boost the pride you already have! It’s so worth it, promise. 

 *I use identity-first language (‘disabled person’) to speak about myself, but some people prefer person-first language instead (‘person with disability’). It’s totally up to each individual person to decide which language they feel comfortable with for themselves! You can learn more about the different language models for disability here (and feel free to ask me more about this!)"

Chloe : "The first thing I started doing was I starting consuming content created by people with disability. 

Whether it’s reading books by disabled authors, listening to podcasts or following disabled people on social media. This content is all about their lived experience and helps spread awareness, disability pride and joy!

Here’s some starting points for you:

• Some excellent podcasts created by and for disabled people
• Some spectacular books by people with disability (and some more)
• Some absolutely incredible folks with disabilities to follow on Tiktok

Listening, reading and watching stuff created by people with disability contributes to your knowledge, because you’re hearing and seeing proud disabled people talk about their lived experience."

Chloe : "There’s a common saying in the disability community: 

‘Nothing about us without us.’

Throughout history, a lot of stories about disability have been written for us by other people, rather than us being able to write and tell our own stories. 

But hearing our stories in our own voices is SO incredibly important, especially for the process of discovering your disability pride. Hearing our stories from each other is something that helps us come together as a community, and celebrate our pride.

So a great thing to do is to seek out or connect with other people with disability and hear their stories. 

There’s lots of different articles and videos online featuring young people with disability sharing their stories and disability pride, such as this video from Youth Disability Advocacy Service (YDAS), or this story from Phillip, who talks about nailing his exams because his disability gives him hyperfoc.... 

Or if you’d prefer to make connections directly with other people with disability, you could join some of the youth disability groups that exist around the country, such as YDAS, the Youth CaLD Disability Collective or The Disability Trust.

There’s also plenty of online communities for people with disability on social media. You can find them by following disabled people online, or you can easily find them by searching ‘disability’ or the names of conditions on social platforms. Or, there’s a dedicated space for Disability and Chronic Illness right here on ReachOut’s Online Community!"

Chloe : "Another excellent way to foster a sense of disability pride is to learn about the disability pride movement and the history of disability rights in Australia. 

It’s SO fascinating, and so incredibly empowering seeing just how far we have come as a community, all thanks to the hard work of some very dedicated disability activists and advocates!

The disability pride movement is about being vocal, increasing visibility and awareness, and being proud to take up space in the world as a person with disability. You can learn more about the pride movement here and here.

Reading up on these victories can be empowering, and can help you find a sense of pride not just in your own disability, but pride for the disability community as a whole. 

This overview of the history of the Australian disability rights and pride movement from People With... is a great place to start."

Chloe : "If I had to choose just one piece of disability content to recommend to make someone feel empowered as a disabled person and feel a boost of disability pride, it HAS to be Stella Young’s legendary TED Talk ‘I’m not your inspiration, thank you very much’. 

The late Stella Young was a beloved Australian writer, comedian and disability activist. Her TED talk is – and don’t use this word lightly – life-changing. It’s relatable and powerful, and is a must-watch/read for any person with disability. Watch it HERE.

(and you can learn more about Stella Young and her groundbreaking work here.)"

Chloe : "Finally, if you’re feeling empowered after doing all the above and feel like you want to yell about your disability pride from the rooftops – do it! 

Sharing your lived experience and helping to spread awareness can be really fulfilling, building up both your pride and your sense of self. 

There’s plenty of ways to speak up and show your disability pride. You could:

• Wish everyone a happy International Day for People with Disability on 3 December 🎉.
• Check to see if your local area is celebrating IDPWD and holding any events that celebrate the disability community – find local events with this country-wide IDPWD calendar.
• Share something about yourself with your friends on social media – maybe something that you love and celebrate about your disability.
• Share a post, article, podcast or book about disability that resonated with you.
• Share an awareness post – perhaps about a fundraiser or disability service that needs donations.
• Head to the ReachOut Online Community to share your story of disability pride or to hear from other young people. For example, check out this thread about what disability pride means to different people.
• Post something on social media about what disability pride means to you, or how you started learning about disability pride. (Everyone has to start somewhere – and by sharing, you could be helping someone else begin to celebrate their own disability!)"

Chloe : "Okay, that’s all the tips I have! But if you’ve got any questions, feel free to post them below!

Thanks everyone, so happy to share with you all! I’m so proud to be a person with disability, and I’m so proud of you for getting in touch with your disability pride. HAPPY IDPWD EVERYONE! 🎉🤠"

Thank you so much Chloe! Those tips are so great - I'll certainly be taking some on board and working on my pride as a disabled person too! 🙌

If you have any questions for Chloe, or would like to add your thoughts, experiences or feelings - you can add to this thread at any time and we'll get back to you as soon as we can 😊