An Anti-Ableist Framework

A working framework guide (re)imagining a socially conscious brand into an anti-ableist, socially impactful ecosystem.

Hey, friends!

Following the (re)imagination and (re)introduction of ThisAbility Limited, let’s discover our revolutionary guide to creating a socially impactful ecosystem that is committed to eliminating ableism and embracing Crip Time¹. This framework will help you reimagine your brand’s purpose and values to reflect a more just and liberated business and society. Join the movement towards a radical, restful, regenerative, interdependent, and loving world.

Anti-ableism framework

We’re (re)imagining a new way: from a socially conscious brand to a socially anti-ableist, impactful ecosystem, so we created a working framework guide. Let’s go!

The Pioneer: Sulaiman R. Khan – سلیمان راشد خان

Daringly integrating Disability. As a Global Majority² Disabled AF Oracle, I’m the visionary behind this framework for socially conscious brands to create anti-ableist, socially impactful ecosystems. Why ecosystems? I understand that everything is connected. Everything is a part of broader ecosystems, from people to brands, fungi to oceans, and everything in between. Taking an ecosystemic (and systemic) approach to establishing a more equitable and just business and world is critical.

So, I’m (re)imagining and (re)visioning what this could look like in Access Intimacy, interdependence, and Revolutionary LOVE®.

I’m wheeling away with zero tolerance for all systems of oppression. I have never been able to walk and never want to walk. So, as a Disabled AF power wheelchair user, “wheeling away” is my cheeky take on “walking away.” Walking is overrated! Xx

I no longer tolerate being capitalism’s plaything, ableism’s commodity, racism’s tool for power, colonialism’s puppet for violence, white supremacy culture’s fetish for manipulation, cis-able neocolonial-racist-supremacist heteronormative patriarchy’s armour for bullying, and oppression’s pawn for harm. My ancestors and descendants demand and deserve better from me and for me.

Seven Wheels to Become an Anti-ableist, Socially Impactful Ecosystem*

1. Vacuum noise. Audit where we are and build a foundation with Disability.

2. Seeding access. Embed accessibility as a necessity, not a luxury.

3. Plant decolonial flowers. Deep work on anti-ableism and anti-racism.

4. Wait patiently. Understand genuine intersectionality and dismantle white supremacy culture while you wait.

   

   Image description: A white chart with black text showing the nine characteristics of white supremacy culture via Charity So White. In no particular order, the chart lists the following: perfectionism, everything is urgent, defensiveness, power hoarding, paternalism, worship of the written word, quantity over quality, fear of open conflict, either/or thinking, objectivity, prioritising white comfort, and individualism. On the bottom left, there is smaller black text that reads, “From Dismantling Racism: A Workbook for Social Change Groups, by Kenneth Jones and Tema Okun, ChangeWork, 2021. End.

5. Share flowers. Distribute harvest fairly by financial investment in the Disabled Community long-term and by rooting Disability Justice.

6. Embrace the Sun. Release into the universe and feel the warmth and love of Disability. Disability liberation is our North Star.

7. Trust the Universe. If our work is authentic and loving, have faith in it and stand by it. And do better tomorrow. Progression over perfection, always.

* You can only become an anti-ableist, socially impactful ecosystem by actively doing radical deep work daily, having a shared Community Commitment, and creating a long-term active praxis with unconditional Access Intimacy, interdependence, and Revolutionary LOVE®, always. X

The Praxis: Revolutionary LOVE®

Revolutionary LOVE® is our practice to create anti-ableist, socially impactful ecosystems. Love is the most powerful tool for creating such ecosystems, and Revolutionary LOVE® is the ultimate way to show us how.

[Open Quote] “Conformity, palatability, and dehumanisation are built on fear, hate, intolerance, scarcity, and injustice. Revolutions are made with community care, collective liberation, interdependence, and, most critically, revolutions are built on love. Revolutionary LOVE is the only way forward for our (collective and loving) thriving beyond surviving. Healing is interdependent and intertwined. We choose Revolutionary LOVE as our North Star for the collective liberation of all of our kin (by blood or bond, our human and more-than-human kin, and our inner and outer selves). I will be my own North Star by existing infinitely through Revolutionary LOVE” [End Quote]

– Me, Sulaiman R. Khan - سلیمان راشد خان

The Process: ThisAbility® Limited

ThisAbility® Limited is the consultancy that will guide you away from obliviousness and ableism and lead you to consciousness and self-awareness to become an anti-ableist, socially impactful ecosystem. This strategy allows us to work towards Disability liberation.

We may be limited in name, but we are unlimited in imagination.

Five-wheel process*

Image description: An infographic with five circles in different colours representing the five-wheel process. From left to right: (1) an orange circle depicting a head in a side profile with stars emerging from its open mind. The word underneath reads “Imagine”. (2) A yellow circle with a magnifying glass containing a depiction of a magnifying glass, with the word “Investigate” underneath. (3) A blue circle depicting a glowing light bulb symbol with the word “Ideate” written underneath it. (4) A purple circle depicting a comet trailing fire, with the word “ignite” underneath it. (5) A pink circle depicting a notebook and pen with the word “Interpret” underneath it. End.

Imagine

We will imagine what is possible without filters or restrictions in a safe and brave space with no shade or judgment. We’ll look and see where you are about Disability and anti-ableism.

Investigate

We will research solutions to become an anti-ableist, socially impactful ecosystem. We love a good audit! The next wheel helps us all know where we are, our current Disability perceptions in our culture, and, most importantly, why things are how they are when it comes to Disability.

Ideate

We will create solutions and apply them to become an anti-ableist, socially impactful ecosystem. Once we’ve conducted the audit, we’ll develop a custom work plan to embed accessibility, do deep work on anti-ableism and anti-racism, understand genuine intersectionality, dismantle white supremacy culture, and financially invest in the Disabled community rooted in Disability Justice.

Ignite

We will amplify the solutions to have the most impact and refine and improve these solutions for continual progress to become a socially impactful, anti-ableist brand. Following ethical co-creation, it will be time to develop the actions, refine them, and share actions with the universe.

Interpret

Progression over perfection. We will discuss how we will evaluate the implementation and your subsequent relevant outputs, ensuring that it drives you to become an anti-ableist, socially impactful ecosystem. There is no one way of measuring success or assessing effectiveness. We will facilitate critical thinking on identifying progress and building impact measures to track and evaluate over time. Disability liberation will be our North Star.

* From “imagine” to “interpret”, the five-wheel process is our circular way of working with all our clients to solve their critical need to become an anti-ableist, socially impactful ecosystem. You will gain an actionable framework for making your brand not only socially conscious but also socially impactful.

Image description: Bold, wild, fearless existence. In the middle of an abstract dark blue background is a photo of Sulaiman (a wholeheartedly Disabled AF and British-Pakistani man) lying in bed on his right with a nasal ventilator mask over his face as the sun is shining over his beautiful face. The sun glistens through his eyes with a joyful smile, allowing the viewer to experience the universe through his sexy, spicy, and sacred brown eyes. Sulaiman is wearing his “I Love Plants” Oodie (“like a jumper crossed with a blanket crossed with a cloud”) in green featuring various personified and playful plants via @the_oodie, and he feels calm. End.

We’re for you if:

+ You are a socially conscious brand. 

+ You care about people and the planet, including flora, fauna, and funga. 

+ You understand that ableism is connected to other systems of oppression (racism, colonialism, capitalism, etc., in particular).

+ You understand that Disability is a human experience, and if we’re lucky enough to live to old age, we’ll all become Disabled (whether we accept it or not).

+ You lack confidence in talking about and addressing ableism. 

+ You’re aware that you have societal advantages but are unsure how to actively, consistently, confidently, and meaningfully effect change. 

+ You want to use the knowledge and power you have earned for meaningful action. 

+ You are ready to do the deep work needed to thrive with an open mind and heart, (re)learning in interdependence and love.

We’re not for you if:

- You’re looking for surface-level D&I work. 

- You’re looking for a DEI Consultant. 

- You’re unwilling to holistically invest (including financially, culturally, and spiritually).

- You want a tick box service. 

- You expect us to deliver a one-off quick session. 

- You want to use the wisdom and richness you gain from us to shame and harm other people. 

- You want a prize for doing the right thing. 

- You don’t want to be championed, challenged, and celebrated to transform.

Why Us

Here’s why we are the right partners in supporting you to become an anti-ableist, socially impactful ecosystem:

• We’re radical.

• We have over four decades of lived experience with Disability and over a decade and a half of experience in the creative industries.

• We’re multiple award-winning communications practitioners and social justice activists.

• We have changemaker energy.

• We’re equitable and intersectional.

• We’re interdependent, just, and loving liberatory collaborators.

• We’re insatiably curious, compassionate, and courageous.

• We have a human (and more-than-human) and humorous approach.

• We’re unlearning (and relearning) every single day.

• We’re open-hearted and open-minded.

“You deserve to work with me.”

– Me, Sulaiman R. Khan – سلیمان راشد خان

Founder & Chief Radical Officer

About Us

Disability, daringly. ThisAbility® Limited works with socially conscious brands to tackle deep-rooted ableist systems to enact Disability Justice. We are driven to help these brands divest from ableism to become anti-ableist ecosystems and shift from socially conscious to socially impactful by integrating Disability culture. In doing so, ThisAbility® Limited helps to reset cultural standards (values, beliefs, and narratives) and catalyse a fundamental paradigm shift toward Disability liberation.

We are planting anti-ableism into creativity. Right now, we’re helping socially conscious brands become anti-ableist, socially impactful ecosystems. Our services include public speaking, consulting, creating accessible and liberated ecosystemic design, and creative strategy. In short, we aim to create a more accessible and just world where Disabled people can thrive and succeed, not despite their Disabilities and accessibility needs, but because of them.

As a Certified B Corporation™ business and a business proudly owned (and led) by “a Global Majority Disabled AF Oracle”, we are an unapologetic, fully remote team currently based across the UK, with a global footprint. Our eclectic team, representing a broad spectrum of Disabilities, is at the heart of our B Corp certification. This certification means we’ve made a legally binding commitment to prioritise the needs of our staff, clients, community, and the planet (including flora, fauna, and funga) before the needs of our shareholders, ensuring everyone feels valued and ethically represented. 

We work tirelessly to ignite, amplify, and invest in Disabled creativity worldwide, thereby ensuring a liberated future for Disabled people and, ultimately, collective liberation for all.

Our business may be limited in name, but we are unlimited in imagination.

Image description: Bold, wild, fearless existence. Sulaiman (a wholeheartedly Disabled AF and British-Pakistani man) is lying in bed on his right with a nasal ventilator mask over his face as he works on his MacBook Pro laptop. On the grey case of his MacBook Pro are seven stickers on the back of the screen via Sulaiman himself and his Disabled global kin (by bond) – Jennifer White-Johnson, Alice Wong, Sandy Ho, and Mia Mingus. Sticker 1 is a circular pink sticker with red text that says “Cripjoy.” Sticker 2 is a sticker with a white background featuring a gradient black to purple text that says “Create More Anti-Ableist Spaces” in capital letters. Stickers 3 and 4 are cursive text that says “Radical Joy,” one a sticker of pink text with a black outline and the other a colourful holographic sticker. Sticker 5 is a graphic of the black power fist against a white background with the infinity symbol and the words “Black Disabled Lives Matter” written in bold white font placed down the wrist of the fist. Sticker 6 is a graphic of the black power fist against a white background with the infinity symbol for neurodiversity in bold white lines placed down the wrist of the fist. Finally, sticker 7 is an extensive rectangular white background with black text over four lines; on lines 1 to 3, the text says, “Access is… Solidarity is… Disability Justice is…” and on line 4, the larger text says, “Love” in capital letters with the “o” replaced with a red heart emoji. Sulaiman is wearing his Bunny Oodie (“like a jumper crossed with a blanket crossed with a cloud”) in purple via @the_oodie, and he feels calm as he works on his MacBook Pro. End.

Conclusion

As ThisAbility® Limited is a Certified B Corporation–and we exist in an anti-oppressive praxis (namely anti-capitalist, anti-ableist, and anti-racist)–I see this framework as a stepping stone for my business to become a fully regenerative business in harmony above balance with (and not for) nature and our sacred ecosystems through Disability Justice and Funga Justice.³ May I continue to be curious, compassionate, and courageous in leading my business, and may ThisAbility® Limited start thriving, not merely surviving. Bold, wild, fearless. Always. I trust myself, my ancestors, my descendants, my Disability, the universe, fungi, trees, nature, my wisdom, my richness, Disability Justice, joy, grief, Access Intimacy, interdependence, and Revolutionary LOVE® to guide me.

So, are you a socially conscious brand? Be bold, be wild, be fearless.

Are you curious, compassionate, and courageous enough to become an anti-ableist, socially impactful ecosystem? Be brave and centre Disability, daringly.

Are you in? We got you x

Please feel free to contact us at info@ThisAbility.net if you have any questions or if you’re ready to centre Disability, daringly, and become an anti-ableist, socially impactful ecosystem.

Note: This working framework is the property and proprietary information of ThisAbility® Limited and Sulaiman R. Khan. It can’t be copied, edited, reproduced, or shared in whole or in part without the sole permission of ThisAbility® Limited and Sulaiman R. Khan. Commercial sharing is not permitted, but personal research and sharing via social media or directly with individuals in full with total credit to ThisAbility® Limited is allowed. Though it’s a continual work in progress, we worked hard to create this working framework, and we are holding grace for ourselves to own the work and publicly acknowledge it. 

Thank you. Onwards and upwards x

May we create radical, restful, regenerative, accessible, easeful, healing, nourishing, abundant, conscious, intentional, impactful, caring, curious, compassionate, courageous, liberated, interdependent, and loving adventures together! We got you x

1. Like nature, particularly Fungi, and through my radical and badass leadership, I work, live, exist, play, and love in Crip Time. I lead ThisAbility® Limited in the same way. In short, Crip Time is the bending of time (and time travel) that Disabled people (especially Global Majority Disabled folks) are experts in practising; it centres Disabled bodies and minds by and for Disabled people through Access Intimacy for systemic change, interdependence, and Revolutionary LOVE® for collective liberation.

2. People of the Global Majority: coined by Rosemary M. Campbell-Stephens, MBE is [Open Quote] “a collective term that first and foremost speaks to and encourages those so-called, to think of themselves as belonging to the majority on planet earth. It refers to people who are Black, African, Asian, Brown, dual-heritage, indigenous to the global south, and or have been racialised as ‘ethnic minorities’. Globally, these groups currently represent approximately eighty per cent (80%) of the world’s population, making them the global majority now, and with current growth rates, notwithstanding the COVID-19 pandemic, they are set to remain so for the foreseeable future. Understanding that singular truth may shift the dial; it certainly should permanently disrupt and relocate the conversation on race.” [End Quote] (R. Campbell-Stephens, 2020). This term aligns wholeheartedly with my Disabled AF British-Pakistani existence and Queer creative energy. It is my way of wheeling away from all systems of oppression, including but not limited to me no longer being capitalism’s plaything, ableism’s commodity, racism’s tool for power, colonialism’s puppet for violence, white supremacy culture’s fetish for manipulation, cis-able neocolonial-racist-supremacist heteronormative patriarchy’s armour for bullying, and oppression’s pawn for harm.

3. Funga Justice is a term I coined and am still working on a working definition, but ultimately, it centres Fungi in a human-centric world. The term is influenced and ignited by the work of Giuliana Furci, Dr Merlin Sheldrake, Paul Stamets, and Global Majority and Disabled Mycologists.