‘People say I don’t really need a wheelchair’

Amy, 31, a primary school teacher from Woodbridge, Suffolk, set up the Not Disabled Enough, external page in May.

The idea came from speaking with friends who agreed more awareness was needed for people like Amy who used a wheelchair part-time.

Amy now uses Instagram, TikTok and a blog, to share experiences of someone who feels “stuck in the middle”.

“Once I was in my wheelchair in Woodbridge and I saw a colleague, and she said ‘I’ve never seen you in a wheelchair’, and I overheard her husband say, ‘but she doesn’t really need it, does she?’,” Amy says.

“I hear stuff like that all the time.

“Even when I was younger some of my family who didn’t know me that well would ask why I was using a wheelchair.

“While people on the other end of the spectrum often say, ‘I didn’t know you were disabled, I didn’t even notice’ which means I sometimes miss out on support.”