The language we use to talk about something can affect our thoughts and feelings about it. So, the way we talk about disability can change what people think about disability. We wanted to know how people with disability spoke about themselves online. This could help us understand different representations of disability.

We looked at internet content in English from Australian websites using search terms. The websites had to mention ‘disabled’ or ‘disability’. We wanted to focus on young people aged 15-24, so we also used terms like young, child, teen, daughter, and son. Then we looked for I/me/my words to find personal stories. We call these first-person perspectives.  

We found that different things were important to people with and without disability. Disabled people mentioned school a lot more than people without disability. This might mean schooling experiences are more significant to disabled people. People with disability also used family-related words more often.

We found that people share their individual experiences online. They also talk about the social aspects of disability. For example, talking about income support or places that wheelchair-users couldn’t access.

Disabled people also talked about obstacles they faced. We found many positive stories. These focused on achievements and opportunities, especially in sports. They usually referred to outside support, like from teachers and family. People with disability seemed to talk less online about their negative experiences.

The online perspectives we found probably don’t show us the whole picture of disability. Most people had a positive outlook and were well supported. We need to think about other perspectives and experiences to better understand disability.

About the author:

Rosie (she/they) is one of RAY's lived experience research assistants. She is a poet and physiotherapist living with mental illness. They work on unceded Gweagal and Gadigal land.