Disability Pride Month blog
Rachel Booth-Gardiner is a Lead Occupational Therapist within adult mental health services at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust.
She is a disabled occupational therapist, founding member of AbleOTUK, Northern and Yorkshire Regional Network Lead on RCOT Communities, and a passionate advocate for disability equity, inclusion and occupational justice.
Rachel uses both her professional expertise and lived experience to promote anti-ableist practice and improve accessibility across the occupational therapy profession.
If you'd like to engage with the conversations around disability and disability rights, you can join the discussions in our Disability network.
We're grateful to Rachel for her reflections during Disability Pride Month.
Why I'm proud to be a disabled occupational therapist
For much of my career, I believed my disability was something I had to overcome to be seen as a capable occupational therapist. I worried that people would see my disability before they saw my knowledge, skills and professionalism. Looking back, I realise I spent far too much energy trying to separate my disability from my professional identity.
Today, I see things differently.
My disability is part of who I am.
How lived experience shapes occupational therapy practice
It has shaped the way I understand occupation, identity and belonging. It has taught me that participation isn't simply about what a person can do, but about whether the environment, attitudes and opportunities around them enable them to take part in the occupations that matter most.
Living with a disability has given me first-hand experience of adapting occupations, navigating inaccessible environments and managing the impact that barriers can have on everyday life. While my experience is unique to me, it reminds me to approach every person with curiosity rather than assumptions.
No two occupational stories are ever the same.
Removing barriers to meaningful occupation
As occupational therapists, we often talk about enabling occupation.
For me, that means much more than helping someone complete a task. It means working alongside people to remove barriers, recognise strengths, and support them in participating in the occupations that give their lives meaning, purpose and connection. My lived experience reinforces that understanding every day.
Why Disability Pride Month matters
Disability Pride Month is an opportunity to celebrate disability as an important part of our identities and communities, rather than something to hide or overcome.
It is also a reminder that disabled occupational therapists belong within our profession. Our lived experience is valuable. It brings different perspectives, challenges assumptions and helps shape a more inclusive profession for colleagues, students and the people who access our services.
Disabled occupational therapists belong within our profession.
Celebrating disabled occupational therapists
I'm proud to be a disabled occupational therapist. Not because disability defines me, but because it is one part of my identity that has influenced how I see the world, how I understand occupation and how I work alongside others.
Everyone has the right to participate in the occupations that give their lives meaning, purpose and connection. Disability Pride Month is a chance to celebrate that right – and to celebrate the value that disabled people bring to our profession and society.