Why I founded The Disability Force:

I believe that everyone that wants to work should be able to do so, and I believe there is an important role for all of us in society to work together to make this a reality. 

My passion is helping organisations to understand how best to support disabled people in the workplace. This enable us to deliver an environment where everyone can work to their full potential and succeed at what they do best at work. This is not just good for disabled people, it is good for business and the global economy too!

My work is informed by my own lived experiences of disability, a dedication to the Social Model of Disability, the use of modern data, and an evidence-based coaching approach to drive excellence, awareness and cohesion.

I acquired my disability 13 years ago and it severely altered my way of living and working. My life’s motto was to dream big and work hard to achieve it. I played hard and tried absolutely everything - travel to it, climb it, jump out of it, swim in or under it, and dance as much as I could too! 

Then, all of a sudden, the health privilege I had not really considered in my day-to-day life was gone. I had acquired a medical condition due to an undiagnosed virus that damaged my autonomic nervous system. This meant I now struggled to stand and it even led to my needing to crawl up the stairs at home for around two years. As a result, I had to think really carefully about every single decision I made, to ensure I had the energy and stamina to do what I needed to do. What I wanted to do became irrelevant, as I struggled to survive in a world no longer built for me - a new world of barriers. 

I am very open about my conditions because I think this helps to raise awareness of my conditions. I have Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, Chronic Vestibular Migraines and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome… yes, they all roll off the tongue don’t they? Oh, and I also gave Stage 3 Breast Cancer a go in my early 30s too. Thankfully, I have been in remission for the past 8 years.

So why do I share all of the above with you? So you can see how someone can have a heady mix of medical conditions and still craft a business and career that is meaningful and rewarding. This aligns with the evidence-base for the “The Disability Paradox” too. Non-disabled people tend to assume that life for a disabled person is all about limitations and suffering, when actually disabled people report similar levels of happiness and life satisfaction as the non-disabled population.

Sure, there can be a period of adjustment to new barriers when becoming disabled but once we have understood them and worked to overcome them, we are just as talented, resourceful, resilient (and happy) as the next person!

Why I chose to train as a coach and work in the disability space.

If I could go back to the period when I first became disabled, and change one thing about how I managed the transition, I would have found myself a coach that understood disability from both lived experience and an evidence-based practice.

A coach to help me clarify, identify, and work to overcome the new barriers that appeared to me as a result of my medical conditions. That is what inspired me to coach, train with the University of Cambridge, and specialise in coaching that aims to make life better for disabled people.

My life’s motto as above was restored, it just took longer than it would have done had I had the support of someone… well like me! Entrepreneurs and Business Owners often create the service or product they wish they had had, well that is what I have done!

What I did before I became a coach.

Before I retrained to work as a coach, I worked in the media industry. First as a News & Current Affairs Radio Producer in Australia, and then as a Picture Editor at the Financial Times in London.

These roles gave me much experience with working accurately and creatively, in fast-paced and dynamic working cultures. It also helped me to understand what is like to work in commercial and organisational structures too.