Over the last three decades, my experience of navigating this world as a person with a disability has been a constant ebb and flow of highs and lows. I’ve seen progress, but I’ve also hit the same exhausting brick walls, year after year, both in the physical world and across social media.

So when I saw this year’s Disability Pride Month theme, “The World Works Better With Us”, a frustrating question came to mind: How can the world work better with us if the physical and online spaces we live in still don’t work for us?

Shaping perception in a digital world

Through my work with Muscular Dystrophy UK, first as an ambassador for nearly 25 years and now as a trustee, I spend a lot of time thinking about societal perceptions. If we want a world that actually works for disabled people, we have to address how society views us. Today, society’s views are largely shaped by what we scroll past on our phones.

Too often, disabled people are treated as an afterthought. A ramp added to the back of a building after the concrete had already dried, or the alt-text bolted on to an Instagram post only after a user in the comments pointed out it's missing.

True inclusion isn’t a retrofit; it’s a redesign.

True inclusion requires equity, not just equality. Equality is giving everyone the same pair of shoes. Equity is giving everyone a pair of shoes that actually fits them.

Teaching people the difference between the two is incredibly difficult. Brands assume that because they’ve ticked a diversity box or shared the graphic for a calendar moment, the job’s done. But people with disabilities don’t just want an invitation to look at the grid. We need a seat at the strategy table, creative control over the campaign, and a voice in the design of the platforms themselves.

Nothing about us without us

"Nothing about us without us" is a historic rallying cry within the disability rights movement. While the concept has older political roots, it has become a defining rule for modern disability inclusion on social media. Its core message is simple: no content, digital feature, or online campaign should be created without the full, direct participation of the people it represents.

As a professional looking at this through a social media and creative lens, the irony of Disability Pride campaigns on our feeds is hard to ignore. Social media still has a massive representation problem:

• The reality: One in six adults live with a disability. We are the world’s largest minority group.
• The industry gap: Despite our massive presence, industry surveys show only about 2% of communications and social media practitioners identify as disabled.
• The representation deficit: Up to 98% of disabled consumers report that they do not see their lived experiences genuinely or consistently represented in social media marketing.

From tokenism to authentic co-creation

When disabled creators and social media strategists are kept out of agency brainstorming sessions, the social campaigns designed to celebrate us inevitably ring hollow. Instead of organic representation, we get inspiration porn: content designed to make non-disabled users feel good, rather than content that actually speaks to the disabled community.

Disabled people are some of the most innovative, resilient, and adaptive problem-solvers on the planet. We have to be; we navigate physical and digital worlds built for someone else every single day.

Look at the magic that happens when this power shift occurs:

• CoorDown’s Assume That I Can campaign: This campaign absolutely dominated TikTok and Instagram. By putting a self-advocate front and centre to challenge limiting assumptions through sharp, fast-paced, social-native storytelling, it bypassed corporate cliché and went viral for all the right reasons.
• The rise of disabled creators: From creators showing the realities of neurodivergence to disabled beauty influencers demanding accessible packaging, the most impactful disability advocacy is happening in raw, unfiltered, self-produced social content.
• Accessibility as standard: When Xbox launched its Adaptive Controller, the social roll-out didn't just target a niche audience; it celebrated disabled gamers as fierce, competitive, and central to the gaming community.

These aren't just successful campaigns; they are blueprint-level proof of how much more vibrant, engaging, and innovative social media becomes when we are handed the microphone (and the brand login!).

Actionable allyship for creative teams

Being an ally isn’t just about sharing a generic graphic during July. It’s about actively asking yourself and your team these kinds of questions every single day:

Who is missing from this campaign planning meeting? Are disabled creators involved in the ideation phase, or are we just sourcing them as talent at the very end?

Is our social media content accessible by default? Are we writing descriptive alt-text, using auto-captions, editing them for accuracy, and formatting hashtags in #CamelCase so screen readers can read them? Or are we waiting for someone to complain first?

Are we paying disabled creators fairly? Are we hiring disabled talent because we value their unique creative perspective, or are we trying to hit a tokenistic quota?

Yes, the world and social feed do work better with us. Our perspectives drive digital innovation, our creativity enriches the social media landscape, and our leadership makes campaigns stronger. But for us to make your social space better, you have to let us into the room where the decisions are made. From the very beginning.

If you’re interested in finding out more or working with us to develop a strategy for your brand, send us an email to hello@battenhall.com.