Catarina Rivera, a disability influencer, celebrates Disability Pride Month all year through her travels.
Here’s what she’s learned.
This legislation finally codified into federal law civil rights protections for people with disabilities, per theU.S.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
I felt like there wasnt enough conversation and enough understanding of blindness being a spectrum.
Since 2021, Riveras audience has grownshe now has more than 30,000 followers on Instagram.
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How her career in disability advocacy started
Riveras story with her disabilities is long and winding.
Talking with Rivera now, youd find this hard to believe, as she is the font of positivity.
But at the time, she refused to even talk about her diagnosis.
It was very much a tragedy in my mind at the time, she says.
It wasnt until after college that she advanced to the next step: acceptance.
A potential solution floated through her mind:she could use a cane.
But that would mean being publicly disabledanother self-stigma and hurdle to overcome.
Normalizing inclusive procedures in professional life also takes pressure off those with disabilities to constantly disclose they are disabled.
Not all disabilities are obvious to the average person.
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But just because someones disability isnt visibleto youdoesnt mean it doesnt exist.
A lot of people in companies dont realize the ADA is the minimum standard, she says.
Its not like youre doing an amazing job fulfilling peoples accommodations requests.
We need communication, we need information, patience, flexibilitya lot of these things are free.
But its the adventurous side of travel that Rivera loves and embraces, too.
Shes gonesnow tubingandcurlingin Utah,hikingandhorseback riding in Colombia, and spent a lot of time outdoors.
In each of her videos, she reminds followers that these activities can be accessible foreveryone.
Unexplored by some, perhaps, but not by Rivera.
We need communication, we need information, patience, flexibilitya lot of these things are free.
Still, some countries and cities are better-equipped for people with disabilities than others.
Language reflects our underlying beliefs and attitudes, she says.
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