Brooke is joined by the marvellous Adam Fare, who shares his journey of living with multiple disabilities, including autism, ADHD, chronic bowel issues, and an eating disorder. He reflects on his childhood, struggling with undiagnosed conditions and the challenges he faced in school.

Despite facing burnout and difficult medical decisions, Adam emphasises the importance of setting boundaries and being true to oneself. He discusses the impact of his disabilities on his relationships with family and friends, highlighting the value of empathy and support. Adam also touches on the misconceptions and odd questions he has encountered regarding his colostomy bag, emphasising the need for understanding and respect towards individuals with disabilities. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Adam prefers to use identity-first language to refer to his disabilities, highlighting the importance of personal preference in how individuals identify themselves.
• Growing up with undiagnosed autism, ADHD, and chronic health issues made childhood difficult for Adam, emphasising the challenges of navigating life without proper understanding and support.
• Adam's experience highlights the importance of recognising and respecting personal boundaries, especially in managing disabilities and coping with changing circumstances over time.
• Through his struggles, Adam developed a strong sense of empathy and support for others, showcasing the positive impact of personal challenges on fostering compassion and understanding.
• Adam's story underscores the need for society to move beyond superficial campaigns and embrace genuine acceptance and respect for individuals with disabilities.

BEST MOMENTS

"I use identity first language personally for my disability, so I class myself as a disabled person." 

"I think people just need to judge less, to be honest with you." 

"It's almost like in a cycle. for me. So I go through cycles where I think I can manage it and I just burn out, burn out, burn out, burn out, crisis." 

"I think people are naturally very curious, which is great. Curiosity is actually really interesting."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/disabled-and-proud/id1621152878

HOST BIO

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!