Ableism Doesn’t Live in Policy; It Lives in Practice
Sometimes the gap between what organisations say and what people experience is where harm becomes visible.
I've noticed how often access exists in policy long before it exists in practice.
Most organisations can point to a policy that says the right things.
Equality.
Inclusion.
Reasonable adjustments.
But ableism rarely appears in written policy.
It shows up in how support is delivered or quietly withheld.
Access is approved but arranged late.
Adjustments are agreed upon but applied inconsistently.
Support exists on paper, then disappears when it becomes inconvenient.
The policy exists.
The practice tells a different story.
Ableism lives in everyday decisions: whose needs are prioritised, whose access is treated as optional, and how often disabled people are expected to re-explain, re-justify, or wait.
When practice fails, responsibility is pushed onto individuals, reframed as communication problems instead of recognised as systemic failure.
Ableism does not need to be written down to exist.
It only needs to be tolerated.
And tolerance is a choice.
