Brooke talks to Ahbid Choudry, a passionate advocate for disability rights and the founder of Cabability, a service dedicated to providing wheelchair-accessible transportation.

Ahbid shares his personal journey of living with a disability, emphasising the importance of dignity over equality and the need for compassion in the treatment of disabled individuals. He reflects on his challenging childhood, the misdiagnoses he faced, and how these experiences shaped his perspective on life and work. The discussion delves into the significance of education, the power of acceptance, and the three key steps to achieving personal goals: taking ownership of one's life, recognising individual abilities, and striving for achievement. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• True respect and acknowledgment comes from recognising and maintaining a person's dignity rather than merely treating them as equals.
• The journey of living with a disability from childhood through adulthood has shaped the understanding of challenges faced. Acceptance of one's disability is crucial for personal growth and empowerment.
• The creation of Cabability stemmed from personal experiences with inaccessible transportation. The focus on compassion and understanding the specific needs of disabled individuals is central to providing effective services.
• Education is highlighted as a vital tool for personal development. Learning and understanding one's abilities can lead to greater achievements and a more fulfilling life.

BEST MOMENTS

"I am disabled, but I don’t feel disabled... I don’t have the time to dwell on my disability because I’m working and trying to provide for myself and my family."

"It’s not equality that we need as disabled people. Equality is just a big word that sounds good. As a person with a disability, I want dignity."

"When you put your life in the hands of facilitators, you lose ownership. Take ownership of your life; no one else will."

"I think there's a lot to be said in almost not having that time to ruminate on anything and just cracking on."

"Disabled people are probably the most ignored in society. This needs to be highlighted."

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!