In 2015, what was supposed to be a straightforward surgery, to cure her of the epileptic seizures that started in 2009, left Sacha fully paralysed down her left side, with her medical team telling her it was highly unlikely she’d ever walk, work, or live independently again, and the bleak prospect of life in a wheelchair in a nursing home. To the day two years after the surgery Sacha reached her goal of walking on the Great Wall of China and in August 2023 she’s walking the last 110 km of the Camino de Santiago.

Sacha talks about resilience, mindset, overcoming adversity, disability awareness (both in the workplace and in general) and general leadership topics.

Disability Awareness in the Workplace

The unemployment rate for people with a disability is almost 2.3 times the rate compared to those without a disability. On top of that, only 10% of people with an invisible (hidden) disability feel safe enough to disclose this to their employer. That means that 90% of those with a disability hide part of themselves every day when they come to work. After being diagnosed with epilepsy in 2009, the first person I told at work asked me if I was a retard now. Since becoming hemiplegic I’ve been called “the pity hire”, “the quota filler” and told ‘people like me’ should not be in front of stakeholders because it looks weak.

In this talk you’ll learn about:

• General disability awareness (language, what do we mean when we say ‘disabilities’)
• How to create a safe environment for employees with disabilities
• The real cost of hiring, and not hiring, people with disabilities