08/03/2026
You know that feeling when a tradesman comes into your house to do a job and suddenly starts explaining things to you like youâre a child?
You already know what heâs talking about.
You might even know more than he does.
But somehow the assumption is still there.
Youâre the woman in the room, so clearly you need it explained.
Most women know that feeling.
Now imagine that same moment, but youâre also a wheelchair user.
For much of my life, Iâve had a front row seat to a strange kind of invisibility.
Growing up, and well into my adult life, I was often infantilised. People speaking slowly. People explaining obvious things. People making decisions around me instead of with me.
Sometimes people see the chair before they see the person.
And when youâre a disabled woman, the layers stack up.
First you are a woman.
Then you are disabled.
Then you are a disabled woman.
And somewhere along the line the assumption creeps in.
âSure what would she know?â
That quiet dismissal can lock you out of rooms before you even get to the door.
But in May 2024 I had an idea.
What if we created a space where disabled people werenât the subject of the conversation, but the people leading it?
We pulled together a small symposium on a shoestring budget in the Mary Robinson Centre in Ballina.
That night something simple but powerful happened.
Non-disabled people sat in the audience and listened while disabled people spoke about our own lives. Our experiences. Our barriers. Our ideas.
No filters.
No talking over us.
Just listening.
That night Expanding Horizons was born.
Being heard changes things.
When disabled women speak about our lives, people start to understand the reality of navigating systems that were never designed with us in mind.
The truth is, disabled women are often locked out of the very conversations that shape our lives. Policy rooms. Planning rooms. Decision-making spaces.
But we are not lacking ideas.
We are not lacking leadership.
We are not lacking expertise.
What has been lacking is the invitation to the room.
This International Womenâs Day, Iâm asking a simple question.
Who is missing from the table?
Because equality for women must include disabled women. Our voices, our leadership and our lived experience belong in every conversation about the future.
And if you are a disabled woman reading this, remember this.
Your voice is not the problem.
The room just hasnât been built to hear it yet.
Image 1
Avril sitting in a wheelchair outdoors on a sunny day holds a mug of coffee while smiling down at a small black, white, and brown dog standing beside her. She is wearing sunglasses and a peach coloured T-shirt. The dog looks up toward her as she gently pets it.
Image 2
Five women sit around a small table in a warmly lit restaurant or bar. They are smiling toward the camera with drinks and glasses on the table in front of them. Large windows and soft lights are visible behind them, creating a cosy evening atmosphere as the group enjoy time together.
Image 3
A close-up selfie of a Avril sitting in her wheelchair wearing a grey Harvard sweatshirt. She looks directly into the camera with bright expression and short hair tucked behind one ear.
