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Whether you’re a business looking at ways to become more inclusive or someone trying to find out more about how you can support disabled family members or friends, here are five ways we can work together to beat ableism.

Ableism is ingrained in our society, so even if you don’t mean to discriminate against disabled customers or friends, it can still happen. According to data from Scope, one in every three disabled people feel like that there is a definite discrimination against disabled people in Britain. The problem is, a lot of the time, non disabled people don’t even realise that they are perpetuating ableism. Take a look at these tips and help get rid of ableism in your day to day life.
 

Think about the language that you are using

We might not realise it, but sometimes, every day words and phrases are accidentally discriminatory. Saying something is dumb or lame or even describing something as crazy all perpetuate a negative idea of disability without even meaning to.

Think a bit more about the language that you use day to day and see just how many words could have negative connotations and try changing your vocabulary, even a small step like this would help!  
 

Think about what you consider to be a disability

A lot of disabled people have a hidden disability and disabilities, like people, are diverse and unique. The more you think about disability and disabled people, the more you can educate yourself and think more about how you can be more inclusive.

Several charities and organisations have reported that people with hidden disabilities are challenged when using mobility aids, blue badge parking spaces or disabled facilities – so by expanding your personal definition of disability, you can help make people feel more supported and accepted.

Talk to more disabled people

It can be very easy for people who have never experienced discrimination to say that they don’t discriminate against anyone. And while that might be true in the sense that they aren’t actively behaving in that way because ableism is so ingrained in society, you might not even realise that what you say or do without thinking is harming those around you or your customers. One of the most effective ways that we can tackle discrimination and make the world a more inclusive place is by listening to disabled people and taking their views seriously. This can be as simple as following more disabled creators on platforms like TikTok and YouTube or reading more blogs from disabled writers or even creating surveys and asking questions directly to your clients or friends and seeing how they feel about a situation.

Talking about disability and understanding each other’s points of view is a great way to get a conversation started and confronting ableism in your life.

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