How Disability-Affirming Language Builds Connection, Confidence and Customers

Friday 21 November

On Tuesday 18 November, Acting CEO Megan Spindler-Smith spoke at the City of Sydney event ‘Serve everyone: How inclusive businesses win more customers’ held as part of their International Day for People with Disability (IDPwD) events.

Below is a transcript of their speech ‘Serve everyone: How Disability-Affirming Language Builds Connection, Confidence and Customers.‘

Good morning, everyone. I’d like to begin by acknowledging the Traditional Custodians of the land we’re meeting on today—the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation—and pay my respects to Elders past and present. Their storytelling continues to guide how we live, grow and learn on this land.

I’m Megan Spindler-Smith, the Acting CEO of People with Disability Australia, the national cross-disability rights and advocacy organisation led by and for people with disability. I am a femme presenting person that uses they/them pronouns, I am pale with dark red hair, glasses, wearing a purple dress and a sunflower lanyard and am a proud disabled person. When you share moving forward, please refer to me as a person with disability, as the term disabled is personal to me, to recognise that my equitable experience is due to lack of accessibility and social requirements.

Today’s theme, “Serve Everyone,” speaks to something simple but powerful: inclusive business practice isn’t just about “doing the right thing,” it’s about recognising people with disability—our families, carers and allies—as customers who can strengthen your business, amplify your reputation, and build real community belonging.

Accessibility and inclusion can feel overwhelming at first. It can feel like something big, technical or expensive. But truly, it’s not about achieving perfection from day one. It’s about taking one action at a time, listening to our community, and signalling to us—as customers—that we matter.

And you can absolutely do that by recognising that accessibility is not niche; it’s mainstream. It’s about using disability-affirming communication, sensory safety, and designing with people with disability, not just for us.

Over 21%—or one in five—Australians are people with disability. Add our families, friends and networks, and we represent one of the largest and most loyal customer bases in the country. We’re what I sometimes jokingly call a marginalised majority.

When businesses include us, they’re saying:
You belong here. You’re welcome. You matter as our customer.

I could stand here and give you a rundown of legal obligations and compliance requirements. But I’m going to assume you didn’t get up early and join this event because of compliance. You’re here because my community matters to you—and that’s the starting point that really counts.

So here’s how you can show us.

Move from being disability aware or disability confident into creating a disability-affirming environment. Shift the question away from “How do we help them?” to “How might we all be included?”

That shift in thinking is everything.

Inclusive communication is a huge part of this. It means your wording, signage, websites, and customer interactions are accessible, clear and respectful. It means focusing on what we can do and why we matter to you as customers.

And importantly—it’s not about perfection; it’s about progress.

Because the reward for that progress is tangible:

• Increased customer loyalty and word-of-mouth referrals
• A stronger reputation as a welcoming, modern business
• Broader community connection and trust

When you make communication accessible through plain language, captioned videos, Auslan versions, digitally accessible menus, or disability-affirming customer service training, you make it easier for everyone, not just people with disability, to engage with you.

The Curb Cut Effect

This brings me to one of my favourite concepts: the Curb Cut Effect.

It comes from something you probably walk over every week without noticing—the ramps cut into kerbs at lights and crossings. They were originally created for wheelchair users and people with mobility aids. But who uses them now?

People like you and me.
People delivering stock on trolleys.
Parents with prams.
Travellers with luggage.
Cyclists.
Pretty much everyone.

A design created for accessibility ended up benefiting the entire community.

That’s the Curb Cut Effect. And it applies directly to how you communicate with your customers.

When you use plain language or easy read, you include people with cognitive or intellectual disability—and you also include people who speak English as a second language, or customers who are busy and skim reading.

When you caption your videos or include Auslan, you include Deaf and hard-of-hearing people—and you also include anyone watching your content in public with the sound off.

When your website follows WCAG 2.2 accessibility standards, you support people who use screen readers—and you also improve user experience and your search engine results for everyone.

Accessibility doesn’t exclude anyone; it expands your reach.

And when businesses get this right, my community responds with confidence, trust and repeat business.

So—how do you make disability-affirming communication real in your business?

1. Start with your team.

Train staff to communicate respectfully, confidently and with the right tone.

That includes:

• Learn about the human rights and social models of disability and actively use disability-affirming language, while being mindful of tone. Many a time we can hear the ooohh of pity that accidentally creeps in when they’re speaking to me, often linked with charity model or a fear of “becoming” me.
• Bring in “hidden disability” sunflower lanyard training and tools to help create a safe space for people with non-apparent disabilities.
• Speaking directly to the person with disability, not a companion.
  Ask, or wait to be asked before providing assistance. Touching someone’s mobility aid without asking, my walking stick when I drop, my wheelchair, is like touching a part of my body without consent. Mobility aids for many of us are extensions of our body.
• Being patient and open to different communication styles. Just because I currently communicate in a way that is socially respected or acceptable does not make my communication more valid.

You and your staff are your brand. When they model inclusion, we trust your business.

2. Review your communication.

Use clear, plain language. Avoid jargon, or explain it if you have to use it. Avoid deficit language and avoid anything that unintentionally turns us into inspiration, as Stella Young would say, “inspiration porn”.

And please, download and use PWDA’s free Language Guide. It’s practical, current and easy to apply. You don’t have to invent things from scratch; we understand energy levels and time capacity.

Not every business can afford full easy-read versions right away, so start with plain language.

Make sure your websites, menus and promotional materials have accessible text. Use alt text for images. Caption your videos. Ensure your signage is legible and easy to navigate.

These changes take minutes but make a world of difference.

3. Make your space and experience accessible.

Yes, physical access matters. But sensory access is equally important.

Many of us have sensory support requirements, lights, sound and smell can be overwhelming. If it’s not viable to reduce these all the time, think about well-advertised sensory-friendly times that aren’t just Tuesday’s at 10am.

Ask your current or potential customers with disability what they think would work. Co-designing even one small action for your environment can unlock solutions you wouldn’t think of alone. Usually in a more cost effective way.

Small changes like quiet hours, soft lighting, clear wayfinding, or simply communicating potential barriers up-front go a long way.

And sometimes the most inclusive thing you can do is be transparent. If your only entry is a staircase, tell us. Let us decide what works for us before we arrive.

Honesty builds trust more than perfection ever could.

4. Partner and listen.

Work with people with disability and our representative organisations.
Seek feedback.
Act on it.
Show that lived experience is expertise.

Inclusion isn’t a final destination; it’s an ongoing journey. Action by action. Building your confidence and strengthening your connection to our community.

Accessible, inclusive communication isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s a smart, future-focused business strategy that benefits everyone.

When you communicate and engage in a disability-affirming way, you create a bridge between your business and the community. You create environments people trust, return to and recommend.

Before you leave today, write down one small action you will take in the next seven days to create a slightly more disability-affirming experience:

• Review your language
• Check your website’s accessibility
• Add captions
• Create a sensory-friendly hour
• Reach out to a local disability organisation
• Or download PWDA’s Language Guide and start using it

Small actions create big change. And that change starts with you.

Thank you.

ENDS

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