Who are we & what is our mission?
A movement for positive change
Our Mission
“Changing perceptions through open conversations”
We are all disabled means different things to different people. Almost everyone has something that potentially limits their ability to fully participate in society, particularly in these current times.
We Are All Disabled is a Community Interest Company with the social aim of bringing together people from across disabled and non-disabled communities to explore, challenge and change perceptions of disability.
We want to encourage discussion and debate by creating a safe and supportive space for people to share their experiences and talk about issues which they may find uncomfortable in order to inform, educate and inspire each other.
We Are All Disabled promotes the Affirmative model of disability which encompasses positive
social identities grounded in the benefits of a lifestyle of being impaired and disabled.
Our aim is to normalise disability as part of the human experience and close the binary divide between disabled and non-disabled.
Our ultimate goal is to create a global community, founded in the North East, which promotes empathy and understanding in order to improve the everyday lived experiences of disabled people and promote the effective use of people’s unique and individual strengths, no matter what their ‘ability’.
Through coming together and recognising our shared humanity we can all learn to embrace our uniqueness, celebrate our differences and feel pride in who we are.
Our ultimate goal is to create a global community
Founded in the North East, we want to create a community which promotes empathy and understanding in order to improve the everyday lived experiences of disabled people and promote the effective use of people’s unique and individual strengths, no matter what their ‘ability’.
Through coming together and recognising our shared humanity we can all learn to embrace our uniqueness, celebrate our differences and feel pride in who we are.
Our story
We Are All Disabled was founded by Dr Lucy Reynolds, a public speaker, academic researcher, blogger, and advocate for disability rights. It began life as a blog which Lucy started writing in 2020 in response to the Covid pandemic where people suddenly found themselves in lockdown and unable to fully participate in society.
An opportunity to open up conversations
Lucy saw this as an opportunity to open up the conversation around the fact that many disabled people experience prejudice and marginalisation in their day to day lives. Not just during a government lockdown.
We Are All Disabled was awarded CIC status in July 2021 and as an organisation aims to bring people together from across disabled and non-disabled communities to explore, challenge and change perceptions of disability.
Meet our team
Lucy the founder and Managing Director of WAAD and Lucy Reynolds PhD Ltd. She is a public speaker, academic researcher, blogger, and advocate for disability rights and is passionate about exploring, challenging and changing perceptions of disability.
Julia is a Director of WAAD, life coach and business strategist with extensive skills and experience in marketing and event management; working with individuals and organisations across public, private and charitable sectors.
Get Involved with WAAD
We are all about communication and connection; the more people who bring their ideas, talents and enthusiasm to WAAD the greater impact we can have. If you would like to get involved in our movement for positive change then we’d love to hear from you.
