Disability Pride Month 2026 - One Year On

This blog offers a personal reflection on how different aspects of identity and lived experience can overlap. Alyson’s story explores disability, neurodiversity, mental health and perimenopause, highlighting how assumptions and societal blind spots can affect diagnosis, support and belonging. It is a reminder that inclusion means recognising the whole person, not just one part of their experience.

For Disability Pride Month 2025, I reflected on the people who were supporting me while I tried to manage my disabilities. At the end, I said I hoped I would be back in 2026 to tell you all about my achievements so…here I am.

Well, the first thing I have to celebrate is that I have another health condition. Yes, I know that in normal circumstances that is not something to celebrate but let me explain. When I wrote my 2025 blog, I thought the reasons for my less than stellar physical and mental health were down to my attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis. That getting the diagnosis had set off some internal chain reaction which had brought me so far down I was barely keeping my head above water. Turns out, not so much. Turns out the laundry list of symptoms was perimenopause. At 36. Because of course it was.

So why is that something to celebrate? It’s because I finally had an answer. Almost two years of wild and wonderful symptoms wasn’t me having a breakdown following my ADHD diagnosis. It was hormonal and, at 36, it wasn’t going to be anyone’s first thought. Now, with the right combination of ADHD medication and hormone replacement therapy (HRT), I feel like myself again.

This now leaves me with a grand total of six diagnosed medical conditions, a couple of suspected ones, and a whole bunch of meds to manage. It has also meant I have needed my villages more than ever: family, colleagues, friends, and even some new folks. When I wrote last year that I hoped I would have some achievements to bring back this year, I didn’t really know if that would be true, but it turns out it was.

So let me celebrate what I have managed to achieve in the past 12 months despite it all:

• I visited Tokyo, something I have wanted to do for a long, long time, and it was incredible. I saw as much of the city as I could, went to both Disney parks, did a LOT of shopping, and even got to go to the café based around my favourite video game.
• I learned to roller-skate, which was not something I think I ever anticipated doing. I am not usually one for sports, but I thought it might be fun to try a taster session, and it was. Next thing I knew, I had a six-week beginner course booked, I’d bought my own skates and protective gear, and I was enjoying exercise. I still need more practice to get my confidence up.
• I went along to an event recently and came away with an invitation to join a weekly knit and natter group. Given that there was a point last year when I was barely leaving my flat, managing to go whole to an event with people I’d never met and then joining a regular social group is a big step. Meeting like-minded people who all have things to bond over, like stationery and crafting, has been so lovely.

Now, don’t take this as me saying that I am somehow now a perfectly healthy person who can do anything. I am still disabled. I have a lot of things to manage. I have good days. I have bad days. I have good days where I push myself too much and then cause a bad day, which you would think I would learn from, but I won’t. Disability isn’t all or nothing; it’s much more of a rollercoaster ride than that. If you see me dashing around the office chatting to everyone and posting all the letters, that doesn’t mean I am going to be the same the next day. Or even in the next hour sometimes.

I can celebrate Disability Pride Month this year knowing I have got a much better handle on my disabilities and that I have achieved so much. I also know there are still going to be bad days when I am maybe somewhat less proud, but they won’t last forever. And I can’t wait to see what I come back with in another 12 months to tell you all about.

Author: Alyson