Equal Lives' 30th Anniversary survey - Results Part 1

'Equal Lives' Anniversary Survey: The Results' is written in white text on a navy blue background. Beneath this, there is a background collage of clocks and timers in pale semi-transparent blue. 4 scraps of paper are set on top of the background; the first one has the Equal Lives 30th anniversary logo, marking 1996–2026. The other three read 'Changes', 'Hopes', and 'Experiences'. In the top right-hand corner of the graphic is the Equal Lives logo: Equal Lives is written in blue text, with a tagline written in purple - Free from disabling barriers. There are 3 orange birds flying into the air above the writing.

Looking back with pride, looking ahead with purpose. That was the title of our survey in which we asked you 3 questions about your experiences of being Disabled across the last 30 years. We know that things have progressed in some ways, but that there is still a lot of work to do. As a user-led organisation, it’s important to us to hear your voices and stories so we can use them to inform our work.

The questions we asked were:

1. What's the one big change you have seen for Disabled people over the last 30 years?

2. What has been one of the most significant experiences you've had as a Disabled person over the last 30 years?

3. What's one change you hope to see over the next 30 years?

We are very grateful to the 28 people who took the survey – thank you for trusting us with your thoughts. Although 28 is a relatively small sample size, we were able to analyse the results to identify the most commonly occurring themes. Please note that some people talked about multiple themes, while others skipped questions, so the numbers on the pie charts may not always add up to exactly 28.

This is the first of three blogs that summarises the survey results. This blog focusses on the first question about changes for Disabled people.

What's the one big change you have seen for Disabled people over the last 30 years?

[Alt text]: A colourful pie chart showing the results of the question grouped by theme: Improved inclusivity and accessibility (10), Improved knowledge, understanding, and attitudes (8), Government cuts and difficulty getting benefits (6), Negative stereotypes and harmful media portrayal (3), Better representation and visibility (2), Policy changes e.g. DDA and Equality Act (2).

Top answer:

10 out of 28 survey respondents (i.e. around 35%) talked about improved inclusivity and accessibility. This was the most popular recurring theme! People described how their needs have overall been better met due to accessibility improvements. Technology, public transport, and shops and supermarkets all came up a lot. Many respondents acknowledged some improvement but added that more needs to be done. Here are some full answers on this theme:

• “Inclusion - Although we still have a way to go with this, I feel recognised and my needs better accommodated to as a person with TBI.” – Nichola A.

• “Technology has really helped with inclusivity I think.” – Jen H.

• “More awareness and more accommodation in private and public sites.” – Laura L.

• “An increase in understanding and accessibility overall. One example is the new wheelchair trolleys that are available in many supermarkets.” – Anonymous

• “Accessibility in public spaces and shops has massively improved. The availability of blue badge parking spaces is good. Accessible public transport is now available (trains, buses, underground tube). Aeroplanes and coaches’ accessibility has not improved. There are more dropped curbs. Accessible toilets. Changing spaces. The start of an understanding that not all disabilities are visible. Greater general public awareness of the issues facing people with disabilities. Shopmobility. There has been an overall big improvement in adaptations to buildings, structures, services and understanding of disability. But more needs to be done.” – Anonymous

• “A greater willingness from organisations and service providers to recognise the access requirements of disabled people, and to accommodate them more positively.” – Anonymous

• “The biggest change I have noticed in the disability world is the journey that the education system has been on in terms of Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and mental health. I am blind with other underlying health issues. I was lucky enough to have a full mainstream education and study for 2 years at my local mainstream university. Throughout my whole education I had 1:1 support. When I was in primary school my need was the highest and most obvious in my class (but not across the entire school). At high school we had a small SEND department with trained staff in the main school building. I only left high school after my A-levels 8 years ago, and areas like SEND and mental health have continued to rapidly grow in profile even since then.” - Anonymous

• “Motability scheme, better toilets, dropped kerbs.” – Anonymous

• “Supermarkets have good access and toilets but otherwise little has changed.” – Anonymous

Second most common answer:

The second most common answer, with 8 people, was improved knowledge, understanding and attitudes around disability. Several people mentioned invisible disabilities and neurodivergence specifically. Here are some full answers on this theme:

• “I think an attempt to remove stigma and improve knowledge of different forms of disability has been genuinely progress, although it was quite a low bar to start with. Especially the understanding of how broad neurodiversity is, how it impacts people differently and improved diagnostic tools for people who weren't assigned male at birth. Again, it's slow progress and accessing that diagnosis is so difficult still, however it can be genuinely life changing.” – Ruth S

• “Disability may still feel like a source of shame to some, but in my experience, it feels more widely accepted as a normal part of life.” – Anonymous

• “People’s attitudes [have improved] especially young people and children.” – Anonymous

• “Acknowledging that disability can be invisible” – Anonymous

• “Increased awareness of diversity generally, including disability and varied ways of thinking and being in the world - the ongoing and painfully slow collapse of the pale-skinned, male, middle class "normality" and the equally slow but continuing demise of neurotypical centring.” – Rachel L

  
  

Third most common answer:

The next most common theme (6 respondents) was around government cuts and difficulty in getting benefits. Here are some direct quotes on this theme:

• “I feel it is harder to get benefits for the disabled” – Dale B

• “Money cuts from government” – Tracey B

• “Our governments repeatedly using disabled people as scapegoats and cutting benefits instead of taxing the rich” – Anonymous

Against the same paled-out background collage of clocks and stopwatches as the first graphic, there is a large scrap of white paper. On the paper reads '1996 - 2026: Societal changes' in purple writing. The Equal Lives logo is in the top right corner.

Other answers included discussion about the negative stereotypes and harmful media portrayal, for example, Disabled people being labelled as scroungers or lazy. This theme came up in 3 people’s answers.  2 respondents said they feel that Disabled people are better represented and more visible across platforms than they used to be. Finally, 2 people acknowledged policy changes such as the Equality Act and the DDA.

Thanks for reading our first set of survey results. To jump to the results of Question Two, click here.