Loose Women panellist Sophie Morgan has candidly admitted that people's perceptions of those with a disability has changed for the better, but insists there is a lot more to be done.
Today (Saturday) marks International Day of Persons with Disabilities and disability advocate Sophie, 37, believes this type of day is important to help "raise the awareness of the fact that we are a community that is so often marginalised, so often forgotten about".
Speaking to The Mirror, Sophie, who was paralysed in a car crash at the age of 18, said: "Of course, like any special day that gets allocated to any cause or group, it sometimes feels a bit tokenistic and you kind of think, 'oh, we need more than a day'.
"But, having said that, it's such a great opportunity for charities and for advocates and for activists and campaigners, and for brands to all get behind this community and start to leverage that day.
"To kind of, like I said, raise awareness and make people think about the causes that we're trying to champion. So it's an important day."
And she admitted that while the public's perception of people with disabilities has largely changed for the better, there is still a long way to go.
One big action she is currently getting behind fully is Airbnb’s Adapted Category, which features homes specifically adapted for wheelchair access. She labelled the category, which includes step-free paths into the home, bedroom and bathroom, as well as additional accessibility features, "a wake up call to the travel industry".
Speaking about the new project, which already boasts thousands of signed-up homes worldwide, Sophie added: "This is a really, really major moment for the disabled community.
"The category basically will facilitate thousands of disabled people to travel more easily. So instead of having to wait for hotels, or, you know, various accommodations to become accessible for us and meet our needs, we can now support one another."
The presenter has already opened up her property to be a "home from home" for those with a disability who are travelling and says in doing so, it can help a relieve the stress from a visitor.
"It's [the category] going to take a lot of boxes for a lot of people," she continued. "So what this means is the disabled community can help one another, to travel more. It's a huge deal. It's really exciting. The world has just opened up in a way that we've never seen before."
Sophie was keen to stress, though, that it shouldn't just be up to the disabled community to help their requirements.
"Of course, we just need more inclusion and more access across the board everywhere," she said, before later adding disabled people often struggle because "society has made it a struggle".
"We need systemic change, we need to address where the ableism exists in our society, and we need to collectively work together to dismantle it."
She added: "The category is designed, I suppose, by disabled people, for disabled people. And this is what we need more of in society - that empowering people to be able to look after ourselves and to be able to live how we want to be able to live."
International Day of Persons with Disabilities was launched in 1992 by the United Nations General Assembly with an aim to advance disability rights and to help protect the well-being of those with disabilities.
