A good starting point for anyone who has been recently diagnosed with a disability, is to turn to people who know what you are going through. But with being diagnosed as having something so rare it is almost impossible to find someone you know who has experienced it too. This is what led me to the YouTube community...
Have you recently been diagnosed with an illness? Or do you simply want to know more about what being disabled actually means? Luckily for people nowadays there is a fantastic community of disabled YouTubers who can help guide us, teach us and most importantly inspire us! I have created a list of just a few of my absolute favorite disabled YouTubers, so that if you are ever at a loss on who to watch you can easily find someone! Whether you like to just listen to them whilst doing the ironing, or you dedicate a bit of time every night to watching your favourite videos, YouTube has the potential to really teach you things. It is through many of these creators that I discovered I was not alone in my disabilities!
Jessica Kellgren-Fozard
Think disabled and vintage cross LGBT and you find the amazing Jessica Kellgren-Fozard, an inspirational content creator who not only makes wonderful videos but has a lovely personality.
Jessica has HNPP and makes videos on a regular basis about how it affects her life! She has really inspired me to be who I am today, and I have her to thank for raising awareness about HNPP! It is due to her videos that someone I told about my condition actually knew what it was! (which was a first for me!) Woo!
Find her channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDdi0yUyGW1PKzYXaIACnuA
The Mandeville Sisters
Grace and Amelia are two wonderfully cheerful YouTubers, who are real life sisters! They make all sorts of videos, from interviewing celebrities, lifestyle and also many about their disabilities! Grace has one hand, and you may remember her from the CBBC children's show The Sparticle Mystery (which was my favorite show as a kid!) and her younger sister Amelia has Scoliosis. Both of them always have a smile on their face, and their channel is the perfect blend of information and excitement! They are brilliant characters and insanely relatable!
Check them out: https://www.youtube.com/user/mandevillesisters
Bryony (Bree) Farmer
Bryony actually started her first YouTube channel 'Precious Stars Pads' to introduce the world to reusable menstrual products, however she herself has various chronic illnesses that she deals with daily. She suffers from various conditions relating to her reproductive organs, as well as Lyme disease which causes her to have chronic fatigue and a lot of pain. But as you can see on her channel, nothing stops her! She constantly inspires me with stories of helping refugees and many other amazing things she does! Watch her videos here: https://www.youtube.com/user/breefarmervlogs
Simon and Martina
This channel tells the daily lives of a beautiful canadian couple called Simon and Martina, as they travel around Asia. I had been watching this channel for years when Martina herself revealed that she dealt with chronic pain and that it had been holding her back hiding it from YouTube. Now not only do they still do videos of their exploration in Asia, they also raise awareness of Chronic Pain and the way that it affects everyone and not just the person who has it. For example, just a month ago Simon released this video called 'As a Spouse of Someone in Chronic Pain' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxqzFGxZGQg. Not only this, but they have adorable pets, make cooking videos about Asian foods and have had their YouTube channel for 10 years! (They definitely know what they are doing!) Check them out at: https://www.youtube.com/user/simonandmartina
Special Books by Special Kids
This channel is absolutely fantastic, beautiful and breath taking. The host Chris travels across the globe interviewing inspirational children with millions of different disabilities. They vary from being incredibly talkative, to requiring assistive talking devices, but he always makes them smile, laugh and have fun. This channel raises awareness of thousands of different disabilities, and allows children to express themselves! I cannot begin to describe how heartwarming the interviews are and really urge you to watch the videos at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4E98HDsPXrf5kTKIgrSmtQ
Annika Victoria
Annika Victoria is another YouTuber who I began watching before I knew she was disabled. Her channel mainly focuses on sewing and DIY, which are two of my biggest passions! However, she revealed a few years ago that she is a wheelchair user! This was a huge surprise to me and many other fans, but was a welcome addition to her videos! She now makes content that surrounds her disability and the way she deals with it :) She is so positive and very funny, not to mention she is very creative also! If you like arts and crafts, why not check out her channel? https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqP8HosuK1VRD60wBaEEFtA
invisible i
Katie is a beautiful young woman who is very passionate about raising awareness! She has Autism and knows that autism in women and girls is very underdiagnosed. Not only does she make videos about herself and her autism, she reviews products and other helpful things that could assist you! :) She is very sarcastic and sassy but who doesn't like a bit of sarcasm on their YouTube feed! Definitely give her videos a watch if you want to learn more about Autism: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2_a05o1pW4fr9SzlyMv8OA
Josh Sundquist
Josh Sundquist is a motivational speaker, who has one leg! But he doesn't let his disability stop him. He is absolutely incredible and even does Skiing! Nothing holds him back... Definitely check out his channel if you want someone a little more adventurous!
He uploads every Tuesday! Find his channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_emNizR6F0IYAu68pl3Y1Q
Nikki Lilly
At just 14 Nikki Lilly is the youngest person on this list! She is an inspirational british teenager, who has a very severe facial AVM. This is something that any other child would probably shy away from, but she has instead been making YouTube videos about her journey for years! Not only is she a great YouTuber, she also loves to bake! You may even remember her as the winner of the Junior Great British Bake Off! Check out her channel at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4RH7UBW2_c8qUP2qcF6zmQ
Ricky Berwick
Ricky Berwick is on this list because he is just absolutely hilarious! Who doesn't need a good laugh from time to time. Considering he is disabled, he is one of the funniest people on YouTube, so definitely a world away from the 'oh woe is me' stereotype! You may remember him from vines or just from other people sharing his hilarious content! If you don't know who he is, or even if you do, be sure to watch his videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/Dog264sVideos
I really hope you liked this list and check out all of these inspirational YouTubers!Whether you are looking for information on your own condition, on someone elses condition or just want to know more, every one of this channels is a gold mine! Not only that, but they are all fun to watch, which certainly beats a boring documentary! (saying that, I actually really enjoy documentaries haha!)
I am amazingly surprised in myself that I am still managing to keep up with daily Blogging, which is more than can be said about my own YouTube Channel! I am very forgetful and very very rarely upload, but I did do a video about my HNPP which you can find here, but we warned it is very awkward haha! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG0BdNgm9n4
See you guys soon :)
Tasha
Comments