Living with disability: identity and lived experience

Living with disability can influence identity without describing everything about a person. Culture, sexuality, relationships, work and interests all matter. Some disabilities are invisible to other people. People also differ in how they describe their experience and when they want to talk about it.

This section brings together lived experience stories and reflections on disability identity. Articles explore disability representation, invisible disability, appearance, belonging and the experience of being understood or overlooked. Each account comes from a particular person and moment; it does not speak for everyone with the same diagnosis or background.

For readers with disability, a story might reflect something familiar or offer a perspective quite different from your own. Both can be useful. You can decide which descriptions fit you, what you want other people to know and where you prefer to keep something private.

Families, carers and professionals can use these articles as an invitation to listen more closely. Ask how someone describes their own experience, and avoid assuming that outward appearance tells you what support they need. Preferences about language, disclosure and identity are personal and can change over time.

Providers and workers can consider whether their communication leaves room for that individuality. A form, conversation or service description should help someone express what matters to them, rather than reduce them to a label or a set of needs.

The NDIS is one part of some people's experience of disability. A plan can support eligible needs, but it does not define a person's identity, ambitions or contribution to the community. These stories also reach beyond services to questions about how people are represented and treated.

Browse the collection with curiosity and respect for the author's perspective. It can help start conversations about belonging, challenge an assumption or put words to something you have experienced yourself, while leaving room for your own story.