I joined Substack in January 2026 under the publication name, Trailblazing with CP. Last month, in a guest post for her 5 Questions With… series, Kelly from Flare and Flair asked me for the story behind my publication name, and in answering her question, I realized this was something I had never shared with the broader Substack community. For context, I’d like to share it here.
Even though I have a physical disability (Cerebral Palsy) and now alternate between using a walker or a wheelchair, for a good portion of my childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, I walked independently. My family almost exclusively vacationed in the mountains of Western North Carolina, and every trip consisted of at least one hike.
In the hiking world, trail blazes are painted marks or physical tags on trees that guide hikers on a path, typically placed above eye level so they are easily found.
Anytime I hiked with my family as a child, I was always focused on finding the trail blazes, so in one sense, “trailblazing” is a nod to my childhood, my family, and the joyful memories I have exploring waterfalls in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.
The term ‘trailblazing’ also means being the first to do something, often acting as an innovator that others can follow. Similar to motherhood, being disabled doesn’t come with a guide book. No one taught me self advocacy, determination, and what it means to live in a world not built with me in mind. I’ve had to figure that out on my own.
As a child, I didn’t have any disabled mentors in my life (mainly because of shame and not wanting to be perceived as different by my peers). Now, as a woman in my 30s, it’s my hope to be the kind of person I needed as a child. Someone to guide others through what it means to live a disabled life. A trailblazer of sorts.
As you may have seen, I now write under a different publication name, The Disability Dialogue. So I’d like to explain why and how that happened and what it means for my presence on Substack moving forward.
A few weeks ago, I started thinking about what I’m trying to build here on Substack. Initially, I was comfortable simply sharing stories of my lived experience with Cerebral Palsy. However, the more time I spent on this platform, the more I realized how important community is.
In a lot of ways, I feel like I’ve been searching for my community for most of my life, which I think is the case for most of us honestly. Growing up disabled was not easy, and I experienced a lot of isolation simply because I didn't have anyone who understood my life living with a physical disability. Even though I had friends throughout school, none of them were disabled, and I frequently wondered if the friends I made were my friends out of pity. That feeling defined much of my childhood and high school years.
In childhood, I found community theater, and it was the first place I felt seen. It wasn’t because others understood my experience, but because in those moments, up on a stage, I got to be someone different. I was playing a part. For the first time, I wasn't the disabled girl in my tiny small town. I could be whoever I wanted, and the freedom that provided me was unlike anything I had ever felt.
Until joining Substack, I hadn’t felt the joy of “finding my people” since my community theater days. In only 8 months, Substack has connected me with my people. People who understand. People who get me. People I’ve formed real friendships with outside of Substack. So in thinking about what I’ve wanted this space to be, one word kept coming back to me: community.
I began writing on Substack to share my lived experience of life with Cerebral Palsy. Doing that is still important to me, but I realized the thing I love more is using my own lived experience to educate and help others.
I have a Master’s in Social Work, I’m a certified accessibility specialist, and I work as an accessibility specialist for a bank. In February, I changed teams at work. Though I still dabble in accessibility, it’s taken a back seat to the duties I now have associated with my role. And while I adore my new team and definitely feel like the change was the right move in terms of my career, I do miss putting on my disability hat and exclusively advocating for accessibility and inclusion for all.
Recently, I had a pretty major realization: Just because my job doesn’t have as much of an accessibility focus as it once did doesn’t mean I still can’t use my lived experience and my accessibility knowledge to educate others.
In college, I had a professor tell me, “Amelia, you’re going to change the face of disability inclusion forever.” At the time, those felt like really big shoes to fill. But after a very trying few years going through a rough separation and divorce and spending time figuring out who I am and what makes me happy (which is still a work in progress), I think I’m finally ready to follow through on what that professor told me over 12 years ago.
Though I love sharing my lived experience living with Cerebral Palsy (and I plan to continue doing that here, so don’t fret), in my heart, I am and always will be an advocate. For me, that means educating others on disability awareness, accessibility, and inclusion.
Basically, it took until now to figure out what I’m actually building here: a community of people who want to learn more about disability inclusion and accessibility.
Thus, The Disability Dialogue was born. The name came out of my mission to make disability a normal part of every day conversations. Disability is a normal part of the human experience, and I want more people to understand that. Once I became clear on what I wanted this space to be, changing my publication name, making a logo (thanks Brad), and rewriting my publication bio was the logical next step.
So, if you’re new here (and even if you’re not), welcome to The Disability Dialogue community! Anyone and everyone is welcome here, so pull up a chair and sit awhile.
The Disability Dialogue is your guide to disability inclusion. We break down barriers through real stories, simple education, and practical steps to be a better ally. Subscribe today to help build an accessible world together.
If you’re interested, I also now offer a disability inclusion chat for paid subscribers. This is a place where anyone can ask questions about disabilities, accessibility, and inclusion. If you’d like more info on my new offering, I was featured on the August edition of Disability Conversations with Nieta Greene of Disability Community so please take a listen if you’d like.
Either way, I’m happy you’re here and look forward to being in community with each and every one of you!
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