Shannon  talks with Brooke about why she wants to make disability as visible as possible and how getting online with Instagram and finding a community changed everything
She shares her experiences of growing up and her journey from thinking negatively about herself to being disabled and proud and why everyone should celebrate the differences because it’s the differences that are really valuable

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Disability looks different on every single person there is no one way to be disabled
• I constantly felt like an animal confined in a cage where everyone was looking at me, I intensely hated myself for so many years, I was sick of feeling like that
• The more I posted the more amazing responses I got and people told me it changed their lives
• I want to make disability as visible as possible so the generation growing up now can see themselves represented
• It all worked out the way it was meant to  be, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been and I’m doing what I was put on the earth to do
• You are who you are, don’t hide yourself it doesn’t matter what other people think, the only thing that matters is what you think
• There is no such thing as normal everyone is different in every single way, celebrate who you are, your differences are what’s valuable

BEST MOMENTS
‘Don’t give up it gets brighter and it gets sunnier, trust me’
‘I wrote beautiful on my hand and posted it online, I never thought it would be a picture that made a difference’
‘Don’t try and change yourself there is nothing wrong with how you are’

VALUABLE RESOURCES
Disabled & Proud Podcast

ABOUT THE HOST
Disabled and Proud is the show that brings listeners a different perspective on disability. Each week this podcast highlights an awesome disabled guest speaking about their own disability; why they are proud to be disabled and why they are proud to be themselves.
The conversations in this show will look at what challenges these amazing people face socially, mentally, physically and life in general. This show is raw, open, honest, funny, welcoming and educational.
Disabled & Proud does exactly what it says on the tin! And whilst we are creating this space for disabled people to be unashamedly themselves, without the need to conform to society, this is also not about toxic positivity. This show will be shining a big, bright light on disability without it being “Paralympic or pity”.
As you will hear disability is WHOLE, COMPLETE & PERFECT and whilst the topic of disability can be quite heavy - and we definitely don't shy away from the bad days - this podcast is also about having fun too! Our aim is to play a part in reclaiming the word disability - turning it from inadequacy to perfection!

INSTAGRAM! https://www.instagram.com/disabledandproudpodcast/?hl=en: https://www.instagram.com/disabledandproudpodcast/?hl=en