Disability-Specific Peer Groups
Sometimes it helps to talk with people who share a specific experience:
- The same diagnosis or bodymind pattern
- Similar assistive tech or access needs
- A particular treatment system, school type, or institution
This page focuses on peer spaces, not professional support groups.
Types of groups
- Condition-specific groups – for example, chronic pain, EDS, MS, long COVID, psychosis, ADHD, autism.
- Trait- or experience-based groups – non-speaking AAC users, ventilator users, wheelchair users, survivors of institutions.
- Intersectional groups – for example, Black autistic adults, Deaf queer community, disabled migrants.
Groups may meet:
- Online (Discord, forums, video calls)
- In person (through centers for independent living, community orgs, or informal meetups)
- In hybrid formats
Contributors can list groups with attention to who runs them (disabled-led? parent-led? professional-led?) and any access notes.
Questions to ask yourself
When exploring a group, you might notice:
- Do members’ experiences feel similar enough to be grounding?
- Is there room for you if you’re undiagnosed, self-diagnosed, or questioning?
- Are people pressured toward cure or “normalization”?
- Are racism, transphobia, fatphobia, or classism challenged or ignored?
You’re allowed to leave spaces that drain or shame you, even if they’re “supposed to help.”
Contribute to This Page
Have lived experience or expertise that could strengthen this page? We especially welcome perspectives on models not well represented here, including those from the Global South and Indigenous communities.
Suggest an edit or addition →
This page centers disabled people’s expertise and is informed by disabled-led organizing globally. For questions or to suggest additions, see How to Contribute.
Last updated: January 2026