Raising women with disabilities up through shared stories
What has been your journey of disability? My journey is both visible and invisible. I was born without hands and feet, with a disability known as Hanhart Syndrome. This is one of the rarest conditions in the world, with fewer than 30 people ever being recorded as having it. Alongside […]
My Journey: From Doubt to Pride As Disability Pride Month comes to a close, I wanted to share personal reflections on my journey with disability, acceptance, and pride here on Platform Stories. Stories have power—not just to heal, but to foster genuine community. For women with disabilities, sharing our experiences […]
Tell us about yourself My name is Jacqueline. I’m 57 years old and live in Mississippi. I was born on January 1, 1968, with my feet turned backwards—a physical reminder of a drug that changed the course of thousands of lives. That drug was Thalidomide. I walk, but I can’t […]
What has been your journey of disability? My journey with disability has been a long and varied one. I have Spina Bifida, and started my education at Sir Edgar and Lady Coles Kindergarten in Burwood East (now Blackburn South). At 4½ years old, I moved on to Mt Eliza Special […]
Tell us about yourself My name is Katherine Reed, I’m 35, married to Tim and Mum to Will (7) and Harry (5). We all live on our family property in Rosevale, Tasmania. I grew up on the land, riding horses and generally running amok. My Mum is one of 12 […]
Tell us about yourself My name is Kendra Erhardt, I am from Alberta, Canada and am 32 years old. I have been a full-time manual wheelchair user for the past 5 years as a result of a spinal cord injury sustained in a sports accident. I started Wheelie Girl Travel […]
Tell us about yourself My name is Jo and I’m 56 years young. I live on the traditional Country of the Kaurna people (Adelaide, South Australia) with my partner Lea-ann and two dogs (Cavoodles) – Peanut and Tobi. My 27-year-old daughter lives close by with her fiancé. What has been […]
Tell us about yourself My name is Chanel Bowen, I live in the South West of WA and I just turned 30… Goodness! What has been your journey of disability? I acquired my disability as an adult. Managing any disability in this ableist society is always a challenge, but I […]
Tell us about yourself I’m a 33 year old, crazy as ever, spinal cord injury survivor living in Perth, Western Australia. I like to think of myself as a somewhat responsible adventure junky, but putting yourself out there doesn’t come without risk right? What has been your journey of disability? […]
I have lived with disability for a very long time, and some days I get tired of those intrusive, inappropriate and often offensive questions from strangers and people who I hardly know. I get tired of challenging the assumptions others make about how tragic my life must be because I […]
Tell us about yourself I’m Noella, people also know me as Chook as it is easier to remember. I am living in Munno Para, South Australia, but move regularly due to my boyfriends job. I’m currently sitting at 29yrs old, hitting the big 30 in August, and I’m super keen […]
There is a great deal of ongoing discussion around the need for honest representation of disabled people within the media, how people with lived experience need to be driving the way we are portrayed – in all our diverse and uniqueness. We have many wonderful examples of people with disabilities […]