Ableism. A word many of us with lived experience of Disability know intimately.
Yet often lack the terminology or framework to articulate. We encounter inaccessible barriers. We hear language that belittles, erases, or minimises our experiences. We face inequitable workplaces, discrimination, and unfair treatment. We know it’s wrong. We feel it deeply. But we don’t always have the word.
For those who are not Disabled, unless they have proximity to Disability, they may not fully grasp, or even have come across, the term. When we speak with clients or audiences and use it, people are often surprised that such a word exists to encompass these behaviours, experiences, and systems.
But ableism is very much a real word. It’s not some made-up term we’ve only just started using. And yet, when some are confronted with the possibility of naming the mistreatment, discrimination, and inequitable experiences of Disabled people, they call us woke. They call us too sensitive. They tell us to just get on with it. They say we ought to accept that this is simply part of being Disabled.
Only, it’s not. That’s not what being Disabled should mean.
Yes, being Disabled means we will encounter barriers.
Yes, we often play the role of educator. But we should not have to tolerate the continuous exclusion, segregation, and isolation imposed on us. We should not accept the constant put-downs, the derogatory language, the punchlines that make us the joke. We should not accept the euphemisms, special, differently abled, inspirational, anything but what we are, Disabled, or people with Disability, depending on our preference.
Being Disabled should not equate to accepting ableism. In fact, it should mean the opposite. If we, as people with lived experience, cannot speak up, speak out, and call ableism what it is, then who will?
Some say our generation is too sensitive, that back in their day, people just got on with it. But let’s be honest, by staying silent, all we’ve done is allow the cycle of ableism to continue, to keep spinning, to keep oppressing Disabled people through systemic exclusion, discrimination, and erasure.
Ableism is not inevitable. It is constructed, and it can be dismantled. We continue to design these systems, we continue to contribute to them, but if we as Disabled people do not start questioning them, society won’t ever unlearn ableism.
But what exactly is ableism? Well, to begin with, ableism is not one thing. It does not fit neatly into one definition. It doesn’t fit into one box, and it’s not just one type of behaviour, one word, or one phrase.
Ableism is layered, it’s systemic, it’s ingrained in everything, from language, attitudes, and behaviours, to the way we design, the way we view Disabled people, the policies we write, and the workplaces and cultures we build. Ableism is there. It’s always there.
It’s there when Disabled people aren’t represented. It’s there when we are spoken about but not spoken to. It’s there when access is treated as optional, expensive, or inconvenient. It’s there when policies are written without us, when buildings are designed against us, when language erases us. It’s there when we are treated as less than, looked down upon, infantilised, or pitied.
Ableism is not just a slur or a single act of discrimination, it’s a system. A system that tells us we are less, that we must be fixed, that our lives are tragic, burdensome, or inspirational simply for existing.
It shows up in the euphemisms, special, differently abled, wheelchair-bound. It shows up in the praise for “overcoming” Disability, as if our value lies in how well we hide it. It shows up in the silence, when people choose comfort over confrontation, politeness over progress.
Ableism is not always loud. Sometimes it’s quiet. It’s the locked accessible toilet. The job interview that ends abruptly. The event with no captions. The assumption that we can’t lead, can’t parent, can’t contribute, can’t be seen as attractive, or that we are not contributing members of society.
Ableism is what keeps us Disabled by society. It’s what keeps us from securing meaningful employment, and it’s what stops us from even being able to apply in the first place.
Where We Go From Here Ableism can be unlearned.
That’s exactly why we wrote Unlearning Ableism, The Ultimate, No-Nonsense Guide to Understanding Disability and Unlearning Ableism.
This book is our guide for you to understand Disability, dismantle ableist systems, and build unapologetically accessible futures. It is not another soft-focus diversity manual. It is a bold, practical, and radically clear resource for anyone ready to do the real work.
Whether you’re Disabled and exhausted by the constant need to educate, or an ally who’s finally ready to move beyond performative inclusion, this book is for you.
“Disabled people are not unicorns who appear during a full moon. We are your colleagues, your customers, your neighbours, your leaders. And we deserve better than euphemisms, pity, or silence.”
Unlearning Ableism is your invitation to do better, to name it, to challenge it, to unlearn it, and today we are so proud to share, for the very first time, our cover.
Pre-orders will be available soon. You can follow updates and register interest via Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Introducing our Book Cover – Available 21st November 2025!
