Dr Kelly Fleming

I’m definitely a leader. I don’t believe in following “the crowd”.

As my Mum once said “if your friends wanted to jump off a bridge, would you do it too?”

My answer was absolutely not.

As an advocate for equal rights for disabled people, speaking up when I see wrongs against disabled people and others, I’m definitely take the role of a leader.

I would never expect others to follow my actions but I believe we must fight for what we believe in. Step up and take a stand when people are being taken advantage of for any reason.

My Mum was the person who taught me to speak up for myself and to fight for my rights as a disabled child and this positive influence continued inside me as an adult and I’ve continued to step up and advocate for my rights and those of people around me.

If this makes me a leader, that’s okay. I’d rather be a leader and be an advocate for change towards accessibly, educating others, safety protocols, rights of individuals who receive attendant services, the right to have my service dog be permitted to venues, than stand by and see abuse of power by others who control the “services” disabled people receive.

I once sued a restaurant who refused me service because I had a service dog. I had the option to sue them for money but that wouldn’t change anything. Instead, when asked what I wanted, I requested that the restaurant owner learn about the rights of disabled people and equal access with a service dog. I then requested that he go to a minimum of 5 small restaurants and educate the owners about accessibility rights of disabled people and service dogs.

I try to avoid involving lawyers in my advocacy for equal rights but sometimes its unavoidable. I have partnered with others to have lawyers help fight for reasonable, accessible care for disabled people.

I had a lawyer fight for my right to equal access to communication in receiving personal care services.

I fought the mental health care system in my city as well as a nearby city for equal rights for Deaf people to access mental health care.

I take a stand against discrimination, does this make me a leader? I guess in some ways yes. I don’t set out to be a leader, I simply fight for what is right when I see or experience discrimination.