Stella Young

“Let me make this clear: my impairment is such that without a wheelchair, I can't do very much for myself. I can't get out of bed. I can't get myself to the toilet. I certainly can't get myself to work.”

“Too often, we fall into the trap of thinking 'equal' means 'the same' and that we achieve equality by treating everyone identically.”

“As disabled people, we are taught from a young age that those who are attracted to us are to be regarded with suspicion.”

“The mere suggestion that not speaking for a day can give you an appreciation of the social isolation that comes with the experience of disability, particularly those whose impairments prohibit them from communicating verbally, is insensitive at best.”

“The magnitude of discrimination and stigma faced by people with disability in Australia cannot be underestimated. People do not understand disability, and people fear what they don't understand.”

“I'm a full-time wheelchair user. And yet, given the right circumstances, I am able to work.”

“I tend not to think about living to some grand old age. Then again, I don't think about dying, either.”

“I used to think of myself in terms of who I'd be if I didn't have this pesky old disability.”

“I am not a snowflake. I am not a sweet, infantilising symbol of fragility and life. I am a strong, fierce, flawed adult woman. I plan to remain that way, in life and in death.”

“My everyday life in which I do exactly the same things as everyone else should not inspire people, and yet I am constantly congratulated by strangers for simply existing.”

“When I was seven and watched an episode of 'Beyond 2000' that featured a floating armchair, I thought we'd definitely have one of those by 15, at the latest.”

“Yooralla, like most disability service organisations, is full of good people who are passionate about the rights of people with disabilities.”

“My mother loves to remind me that about the age of four, I made a somewhat formal announcement that I was going to be a plumber when I grew up.”

“Many of us, particularly those of us with disabilities who have faced persistent discrimination throughout our lives, not least when trying to find employment in the first place, take enormous pride in our hard-fought jobs and careers.”

“Yooralla is a people pleaser with a very powerful PR machine.”

“I let go of the notion of wanting someone to ignore the way I look in order to find me attractive, because really, what kind of relationship would that be? One where someone's only attracted to you because they're ignoring a fundamental part of you? No thanks.”

“On the whole, my life is and has been wonderful.”

“In my own home, where I've been able to create an environment that works for me, I'm hardly disabled at all. I still have an impairment, and there are obviously some very restrictive things about that, but the impact of disability is less.”

“Let's not forget that the Paralympics, just like the Olympics, are built on a rich history.”

“For me, disability is a physical experience, but it's also a cultural experience and a social experience, and for me, the word 'crip' is the one that best encapsulated all of that.”