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Chelsea Bear is a content creator and disability advocate. She led a career as a publicist for eight years while sharing her experience living with cerebral palsy on social media.
Chelsea has always been a passionate advocate for disability representation and inclusion. In this episode of Motivational Mondays, she shares how she uses her platform to advocate for those with disabilities.
Why Chelsea Became a Disability Advocate
Growing up, Chelsea was involved in Student Government and always took on leadership roles. Through her involvement, she realized that she wanted to become a public speaker.
After college, she landed in PR because she wanted a stable full-time job. She started to use social media as an outlet to share her story but when she found herself juggling two full-time jobs, she chose to go all in on content creation and advocacy.
Celebrating Authenticity and Embracing Yourself
Chelsea has been disabled since birth. If someone asked about her disability, she welcomed their questions, but she quickly realized that most people are uncomfortable asking.
She started sharing her story on social media to break down stereotypes, including topics she wouldn’t normally talk about. It forced her to tap into who she is as a person, which helped her become a more authentic and empowered version of herself.
Normalizing the Conversation Around Disabilities
A large part of Chelsea’s platform is cultivating awareness through education. People don’t know how to approach disability because it’s unfamiliar to them; they’ve been taught to look away or avoid asking questions.
That’s why parents must have conversations with their kids and shouldn’t shush them when they ask questions. Chelsea points out that we should focus on educating each other just like you would on any other topic. A disability doesn’t have to be scary because it’s part of life.
Inspiration vs Motivation
Stories about people with disabilities are told as if they’re overcoming something or doing something amazing by existing. Chelsea doesn’t want to just be an inspiration—she wants to create action. Motivation is about taking action, changing minds, and inspiring people to do something differently.
Listen to this episode to learn how Chelsea is advocating for herself and others using her platform on social media.
Listen to this episode to learn about...
- [1:10] Why Chelsea became a disability advocate
- [3:36] How Chelsea gained 315,000 Instagram followers
- [5:13] Normalizing the conversation around disabilities
- [8:02] Why disability representation on television is key
- [10:47] The importance of advocating for yourself
- [12:55] Why you shouldn’t let other people limit you
- [15:50] The difference between inspiring and motivating
- [18:18] Celebrating authenticity and embracing yourself
Listen to the bonus episode to hear Chelsea’s key message about disability advocacy and the importance of changing the conversation around disabilities.
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