Disabled people leading and taking part in a group conversation

Disability-led. Direct. Unfiltered.

Speak to me.
Not about me.

Speak To Me uses lived experience to challenge assumptions and show why disabled people must be addressed directly, listened to and included from the beginning.

Why we exist Get involved

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What do you want to do?

My experience mattersShare a story

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This is why
we are here

Disabled people should never be an afterthought in conversations about their own lives.

One moment.
One message.
A movement.

How Speak To Me began

Harry was there. But somebody spoke around him.

The campaign began after Harry was ignored in a restaurant and another person was treated as though they should answer for him. It was not an unusual moment—and that was exactly the problem.

Being disabled does not make somebody invisible. Speak To Me turns that everyday experience into a direct challenge: see the person, speak to them first and give them the time and support to answer.

“I am a human being. Speak to me—not the person next to me.”

Read the full story

The power of direct communication

A conversation can change what happens next.

Dignity

Speaking to the person shows that their voice, identity and choices matter.

Better decisions

Listening directly gives services, employers and decision-makers more accurate information.

Real influence

Inclusion means shaping the answer from the beginning—not being consulted after it is decided.

Inclusion is an action

Don’t tick the box.
Change what happens next.

A disabled leader presenting ideas during an inclusive decision-making meeting

The reality in numbers

These aren’t just figures.

They represent people being ignored, excluded or denied the same opportunities as everyone else.

Figures checked and updated August 2026.

1 IN 4

people in the UK are disabled.

That is 16.7 million people—not a small or separate part of society.

SourceDWP Family Resources Survey 2024–25

72%

have experienced negative attitudes or behaviour.

Three out of four disabled people said this happened within the previous five years.

SourceScope attitudes research

1.5M

people in the UK have a learning disability.

This estimate includes approximately 1.2 million adults and 349,000 children.

SourceMencap prevalence estimate

were in paid employment.

Of working-age adults receiving long-term learning-disability support in England whose employment status was recorded. That was 6,365 people in 2024–25.

Official sourceDepartment of Health and Social Care 2024–25

29.7

percentage-point disability employment gap.

In April to June 2025, 52.8% of disabled working-age people were employed, compared with 82.5% of non-disabled people in the UK.

Official sourceDWP, The employment of disabled people 2025

10,224

disability hate crimes were recorded.

Police in England and Wales recorded these offences in the year ending March 2025. Every person deserves to be heard, believed and treated with dignity.

Official sourceHome Office, year ending March 2025

How to read these figures: They come from different surveys and administrative datasets, so they describe different groups and should not be combined into one total. Follow each source link for the population, sample and method used.

About the employment figure: The older 4.8% figure came from NHS Digital data for 2021–22. The collection method has since changed, so the Government says the figures should not be directly compared.

Explore the full UK data hub

Every number is a reason to speak directly, listen properly and act.

A disabled entrepreneur featured by Speak To Me

Real people.
Real experience.

What is Speak To Me?

We show why direct communication matters.

Speak To Me is a disability-led campaign founded by Harry Georgiou. Through stories, interviews, videos and public speaking, it asks people and organisations to address disabled people first, avoid assumptions and make communication accessible.

Read our story

What we are working on

One principle.
Many places to change.

Direct communication matters wherever people make choices about disabled people’s lives. Our campaigns connect the everyday moment to the systems around it.

A disabled employee leading an inclusive workplace conversation

Employment

6% & Rising

Putting ability before disability and opening more routes into paid work.

Explore the campaign

A disabled person sharing a concern while an advocate listens carefully

Rights and safety

Hear us. Believe us.

Speaking up about barriers in services, Access to Work and disability hate crime reporting.

Share what happened

Disabled and non-disabled people taking part in an inclusive discussion

Decision-making

A seat at the table

Co-production must give lived experience real influence from the start.

Work with us

A visually impaired person being addressed directly while ordering at a café

Everyday life

Do you see me?

Challenging the assumptions that leave disabled people ignored or spoken over.

Hear real stories

Do you see me?

See the person.
Hear their voice.

These films show the everyday assumptions behind Speak To Me—and why speaking directly to disabled people matters in shops, workplaces, services and every part of public life.

Visit our YouTube channel

01 You presume what I can do?

02 So you think I can’t order my own drink?

The video that helped inspire Speak To Me

No decision without us.

This World Down Syndrome Day film captures the principle at the heart of Speak To Me: disabled people are citizens, leaders and decision-makers—not an afterthought. We do not just want to be invited into the room. We want a meaningful seat at the table.