Friendships, relationships and intimacy for people with disability 

You can read the full transcript of the event here.

You can watch the full recording here.

Event Summary

• This event was about Friendships, relationships and intimacy for people with disability. 
• The event was hosted by Jax Brown, who is an disability and LGBTQIA+ rights activist, writer and educator, and Madeleine Gay, who is a policy and research officer at Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA).
• In the weeks leading up to the event, there was a survey sent out to people who had registered for the event. The survey asked people questions about their experiences with friendships, relationships and intimacy.
• Jax & Maddy began the event by sharing some interesting things that came out of the survey.
• The first speaker was Daniel Johnston, a man supported by Life Without barriers who has a wide circle of friends and enjoys a vibrant social life. 
• Daniel spoke about his experience with meeting new people and going to different social events. 
• Daniel gave advice to people on how to feel more confident when trying new things and the positive difference social activities have had on his life. Daniel also shared some helpful advice on how to feel more confident in social gatherings.
• Before the break we watched a quick video from Life Without Barriers about relationships. The link to the video is here.
• After the break we watched a second video from Life Without Barriers about privacy. The link to the video is here.
• The second speaker was Isabella Choate, who is multi-award-winning Living Experience Advocate, passionate about community building and platforming the voices of young people with disability. 
• Isabella played a quick video which talked about their professional and disability journey. The link to their video is here.
• Maddy asked Isabella questions about their experience with relationships. Isabella shared a lot of important information about why relationships can look different for people, why it is important to know our rights in relationships and the importance of advocating for ourselves.
• Then there was an audience Q&A with all the speakers. 
• The event closed with an invitation to register for the April 2026 Open Dialogue event which will be about Ableism.