Erin Hawley and Lily Newton are inspiring and informing listeners through their podcast, Everything You Know About Disability Is Wrong.
The show is made through Easterseals, a nonprofit that provides community services to people with disabilities across the country, covering topics around disabilities that are not often discussed.
What Lily Newton & Erin Hawley Want You to Know About Disabilities
"We just wanted to create a space where we could have really authentic conversations," Newton tells Sonia Baghdady of Advocate Now. "There is a lot more to being disabled in living life than 'What's it like to be disabled?' We have love, we have relationships, we have all the regular ups and downs of life."
Romance has been a key focus of the show thus far, with the two hosts exploring the world of dating and beyond from the perspective of those in the disabled community. While the subject is relevant to most people in their 20s, Hawley and Newton offer a unique point of view.
"A lot of people don't think of us as being in relationships, having romance," Hawley explains. "They don't really think of us as anything beyond disability. So it was really important for us to have these big topics like love ... and [for] disabled people to also feel seen and understood."
As the podcast continues production, the hosts seek to branch out into all areas of disabled life. No subject if off-limits, so long as it's approached "authentically."
"I think it's important to share stories, and make sure that [we're] being authentic because so much of disability in media is told by people who are not disabled," Hawley continues. "So sharing stories is the greatest way to bring awareness and understanding."
As Newton adds: "It's so important to give voice to people who we don't hear from often. ... It is through that story sharing that people like myself — before I knew I was autistic — are able to figure themselves out, and also find resources. And find community that you don't really get without authenticity."
For more interviews like these, watch Advocate Now on The Advocate Channel.
