This Disability Pride Month, I’m showing people what I can do
Katie is 22 years old. She’s studying for her degree, and over the summer holidays she’s been horse-riding, visiting Edinburgh Fringe and volunteering on Sense Holidays! Katie is also a full-time wheelchair user. We caught up with her to talk about Disability Pride Month.
For me, Disability Pride isn’t about whooping and cheering about being disabled. It’s about showing people, “I’m disabled, and look what I can do. Look at what I’ve overcome to be where I am now.” All that sort of thing, that’s what it is for me.
I became disabled in my late teens, so I’d already had a long stretch of time to decide who I wanted to be. That didn’t change when I became disabled; it’s just been adapted. I’m still see myself in the same way, but everything I do is a bit different.
No one should feel ashamed of who they are
It’s also about not being ashamed to be disabled. And there’s a nuance there because there’s a difference between like, “This is great” and “I’m not ashamed.” That’s important. No one should feel ashamed of who they are, and what they can and can’t do.
I think feelings of shame can creep in when you notice people looking at you differently or asking silly questions. There are all sorts of other things that can make you start to feel uncomfortable. Like, when shopping for mobility aids, all the adverts are just old ladies with pearls. I find that difficult. When I was looking at stairlifts, the brochure was totally geared towards well-off old people – that just isn’t me. It’s not a nice feeling, to be so unrepresented.
There are also aspects of disability that are still quite taboo. I do have issues with fatigue and things like circulation and digestion. Things like continence, it’s not really talked about but it’s something that a lot of full-time wheelchair users will struggle with. We’re not made to feel like it’s something we can talk about, and that can leave you feeling ashamed.
“But you’re in a wheelchair”
In 2023, I volunteered on a Sense Holiday at the Avon Tyrrell activity centre. I was definitely nervous because it was my first one – and you’re sort of thrown in at the deep end – but my anxieties had nothing to do with accessibility. It was quite nice, in a way, to have normal concerns like, “What are the people going to be like?” rather than “Am I going to be able to go to the toilet?”
I thought it was interesting that the holiday makers, who were young adults, were very unconvinced that I could be a volunteer. They’d say, “But you’re in a wheelchair, how can you do that?” They didn’t think they could be supported by someone who was disabled.
It was good to possibly help change the way they think a little bit, and quite interesting from my perspective. I felt pressure to show them all that disabled people can do! But it was nice to show them that, actually, disabled people can be independent.
