Where Disabled People Don't Blend in, They Lead

At the Abilities Expo 2025 in Chicago, we enjoy the bustling noise of a community built on independence, resourcefulness, and zero tolerance for pity. With Katy Roberts as our guide, we explore how this decades-strong event turns accessibility from a checkbox into a living, breathing experience where disabled people don’t blend in—they lead.

Katy Roberts walks us through what makes the Expo different: hundreds of vendors you can actually touch and test, adaptive sports and mobility demos that invite participation, and a layout designed around dignity. We trace the event’s roots back to 1979 and its growth across seven cities, then dig into the mindset shift that happens when disability is the majority in the room. That shift unlocks confidence, connection, and a practical swagger that says help is welcome but condescension isn’t. Along the way, we challenge the tired narrative that a disability event is “sad” and show why it’s a celebration of agency and problem-solving.

Katy shares how her background in exhibitions, her UK perspective on the Disability Act, and her mom’s MS inform the small details that matter—clear signage, rest spaces, trained staff, and access that goes beyond legal minimums. We talk about ADA compliance as a starting point, not a finish line, and why better design grows markets and reduces friction for everyone. You’ll hear about standout guests—from a traveler who’s visited 53 countries to a Boston Marathon bombing survivor—whose stories center curiosity, resilience, and community, not clichés.

If you’re near LA, New York, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Fort Lauderdale, or Dallas, check abilities.com for dates and resources, including product demos you can watch from home. If this conversation moved you, subscribe, share it with someone who needs a boost, and leave a quick review to help more listeners find the show. Your voice helps this community stay loud.

Transcript

Setting The Scene At The Expo

SPEAKER_01 0:00

We wanna create a really safe space where everyone feels like they're they're so included. This is their place.

SPEAKER_02 0:08

What's up guys? As you can see, we're not in the studio at home. We're actually at the ability expo in Chicago. And this podcast is gonna be a little different. It's gonna be like a speedcast. The sound is not gonna be as great because of how wide open this space is. But I hope you guys enjoy it. Please enjoy this life to the max.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

Live to the max. Don't live it twice. Couple green thumbs up ice cats.

SPEAKER_02 0:56

And today I am here with Kathy Roberts, who is a part of the Abilities Expo. How are you today, Kathy?

SPEAKER_01 1:05

Really good. Great to be here with you. Thank you so much for coming out. No, pleasure. It's exciting for having you.

SPEAKER_02 1:13

I'm very uh we were just having a conversation. We were saying that this is the first time you've ever seen like a podcast go call and like record people's stories.

What The Abilities Expo Offers

SPEAKER_01 1:25

Yeah, that's right. So normally the at the expo, we have uh hundreds of vendors with products and services, resources, all for people with disabilities for the community, no matter what their disability is, to help bring more independence. Um and but this is something new that we haven't seen before with what you're doing.

SPEAKER_02 1:47

I'm not trying to sell anything, I'm trying to share people's stories. That's the big thing I want to do because everybody has a story, and I've been so humbled and grateful to like listen to their stories, and I I've listened I I've talked to about 50 people to the since this started. Yeah, so but it's been amazing, and I and I like uh sometimes I get tired of like I I like I want to let go, but then like I'm like, you know what, like why are you complaining? This person has a way worse like and I like gravitate towards that, and I was very humble, so like because I was like be upset at home sometimes when I came here, it just gave me a different perspective on life, yeah, yeah.

Finding Perspective Through Stories

SPEAKER_01 2:39

And I think that's one of the things that we find uh about this community that we want to create a really safe space where everyone feels like they're they're so included. This is their place, this is their place to see everyone that maybe they haven't seen in a year, like that everyone can get together. It's like a big group party again with all their their friends if they haven't been able to get together. And um, and like I say, it's just a place where everyone looks like you, so you it makes you just feel so much more comfortable, and everything we do is tried to is geared towards the community.

SPEAKER_02 3:17

What I love about it is that we're not the minority. No, we're the majority. I know.

SPEAKER_01 3:23

I have to, yeah, I have to jump out the way because I'm like, you get you got right away, you guys.

SPEAKER_02 3:29

What I love to do is put the spotlight on people because they deserve their stories to be told, like their story deserves to be heard, yeah. And that's why I came up with Life 10X, and I figured uh I would show up to Ability Sex Well, and I've met the most amazing people. Yes. Can I ask how this started? The ability sexual?

Belonging And Majority Mindset

SPEAKER_01 3:53

Yeah, it started in 1979, so it's going for been going for a really long time, and it was started by a guy um who had a spinal cord injury, and he just really needed a place that he could go to where he to get everything he needed and to find new stuff. And and he booked a hall and he got ever called up some buddies and got got it all together, and it kind of started from there. So it's been in different cities around the country um over all that time. We're now in seven cities. Um, so we're in LA, New York, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Fort Lauderdale, and Dallas. Um, obviously, we could if we could be in every city, we would be, but uh for now that's that's where we are.

SPEAKER_02 4:40

Those are great. I mean, it's like from when 79 you said it started 1979?

SPEAKER_01 4:49

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:50

Tennis blossomed and like growing into this viral event. Yeah, like it. Do you see how many people are here? Yeah, it's amazing. Yeah, you got Shirley Reddit bullying lab here. Yeah, which is one of the best hospitals in the country. Yeah, yeah. That's that says something and uh like uh what what is this man's name? You started it. I knew you were gonna ask me that. Can't remember. I'm gonna have to look it up. Well, shout out to him. Yeah, I know. Because I would I when I first got injured, um I felt alone. Yeah, you know, and like I didn't realize that like I'm not alone. There's a little community there. Yeah. And then I wanted to like reinvent the wheel a little bit. I wanted to tell people, like, well, actually show people like that I have swagger. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. That um I got Sass.

SPEAKER_01 5:54

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 5:54

That I can tell I'm a person. Like, you like don't don't treat me like the help. Yeah. Like it just because I need help doesn't mean like you treat me like the help. We're all human beings here. That's what I love about the expo and what I've learned from the 50 plus people I've talked to in the past three days.

Origins And Growth Since 1979

SPEAKER_01 6:15

Yeah, absolutely. And and it's funny because even the security guard yesterday, I was here early, and he said, Oh, this is the first time I've done this show. I ha I hear that it can be quite sad. And I was like, What? Why do you say that? And he said, Well, you know, because of the situation that people have been in. And uh and I said, It's not sad at all, it's a celebration, it's joyful. The people that are here are it's taken them a lot to come out of the door, and it uh and they are here because they want to be more independent, they want to find new stuff, they want to make their lives really enriched and full, and that's what we do.

SPEAKER_02 6:55

100%. And it's like, see, that's like the status quo. Oh, people think like feel able-bodied. People think like, oh, he's in a wheelchair, I'm gonna feel bad for them. Yeah. Do you feel bad for me? No. No, like you feel bad for me, I'm gonna get out of my chair and yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:13

I once heard somebody say, um, we're all tabs, we're temporarily able-bodied because at what at some point we won't we won't be uh the we will all end up needing something. 100%. And I and you know, I I think that I I just love these shows. I love uh I love our vendors and I love our audience, and I just find I it's not even about inspiration because I think that that's a a word used sometimes. It's about a community that are solid and they they they've got a loud voice, and we want to help that to be heard a bit more as well.

SPEAKER_02 7:53

How did you uh get into this?

SPEAKER_01 7:56

Well, my background is in uh exhibitions, so shows, trade shows. Um, but so I did come across this event quite accidentally. I got bought on by the company that bought this event. It's a UK company. You haven't guessed by my accent.

SPEAKER_02 8:11

I was wondering where you're from.

Joy Over Pity: Reframing Disability

SPEAKER_01 8:13

So I am based in the UK and I come over for each show every six weeks. Um and I work US hours with my team that are based in largely in California. Um, my mum's got MS, she's in a wheelchair. I think that gives me literally a few percent of understanding the community, but I I do get the impact of we I want to take her out for a coffee and what I need to think about to be able to do that. Yes. So it's even just kind of getting at having a really brief sort of understanding of that hopefully helps me to to understand what our attendees need as well from an event that they're coming to.

SPEAKER_02 8:52

Can I ask you a question? Um the UK, has it gotten better with uh like the like kind of like the American Disability Act?

SPEAKER_01 9:02

Yeah, we have the Disability Act. Um I think there is a lot that could be improved. I think it has, I do think it has got better. If I think about the access that my mum has now, perhaps perhaps compared to 15 years ago, I would say that has improved. Um, but you know, you know, it's like the ADA. It's that being compliant with ADA is not enough. It's it how can you be really if you can be accessible to all, then you're gonna, from an economic point of view, that's gonna help all uh everyone. So yeah, there's lots to do.

Kathy’s Path And UK Context

SPEAKER_02 9:38

So I've interviewed um like Kirfry McCorley, and he's been to 53 countries, great guy. I know. Uh I interviewed uh a Boston marathon bombing survivor Mark, amazing guy. I I and I'm not trying to like downtone like anybody else, but like these are like people I like stand out to, and they're just so like happy and grateful and just want to change and change stuff, and I think that's what's amazing about this expectation. And I I uh I already got invited to go to for a lot of deal with you guys. So hopefully I can make that trip. And uh I just want to say thank you so much for coming on to the show.

SPEAKER_01 10:28

No, thank you for having me. I feel very privileged that I got uh I got asked. Well, I was hoping you were gonna come on.

SPEAKER_02 10:36

Like I didn't I didn't know you were waiting.

SPEAKER_01 10:39

Yeah. For three days, but no, it's fine.

SPEAKER_02 10:43

I'm here now, so that's amazing. If uh is there anything you would like to say to the people out there?

SPEAKER_01 10:50

Just that if you uh go on to abilities.com, if you're near any of the cities I mentioned, then we'd love to see you come to one of the shows. But if you're not near one of the cities, we have loads of resources on our website trying to develop more as well, online material so that you can see some of the products um, you know, demonstrated by some of our vendors. Um, we just want to create really a hub for the community. Um and we hope that we'll see you at one of our shows sometime soon.

Access Beyond Compliance

SPEAKER_02 11:20

Well, we'll definitely be coming back. I enjoyed every second of being here playing on. I enjoyed giving people the smell of like to share their stories. Thank you so much for coming on. Thank you so much. It's it's been uh it's been an amazing uh expedition. Uh it's almost over and uh we we got more work to do. Yeah, we have to do that.

SPEAKER_01 11:43

Yeah, it's exciting.

SPEAKER_02 11:45

For everybody listening, please like, comment, and subscribe if you enjoyed this content. Make sure you go to abilities.com if you need any information whatsoever on the next event that they're having. And please, please, please, when you see someone in a wheelchair or that's disabled, treat them like a human being. Because that's what they are. They're human beings. And come out to the expo. Come out to the expo, just like Kathy said. And as always, take a breath for me. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 12:31

I'm hard standing, so I was trying to dive my opponents. Am I the next best thing?