The Disability Card Deck
The Disability Card Deck is a therapeutic and educational card deck created to foster open, meaningful conversations about disability. Designed by a disabled artist for disabled people and their supporters, this 48-card deck serves as a tool for self-expression, exploration, and understanding.
This playable artwork emerged from the artist’s personal therapeutic journey and professional experience as a multiply-disabled, neurodivergent artist and educator. Noticing a lack of resources that authentically represented the nuance of disabled lives, the deck was created to centre disabled voices and offer an inclusive, reflective tool for both disabled and non-disabled participants.
The visually-led, creative deck supports reflection, self-expression, and dialogue around identity, access, inclusion, and healthcare. Accessible for diverse communication styles, it fosters connection and insight through visual storytelling rather than words alone. Prompts encourage consideration of personal journeys alongside exploration of contradictions, compromises, and systemic injustices, presenting a timely challenge to political narratives that often marginalise disabled voices or flatten the nuance of their experiences. It builds on the growing psychological understanding of intersectionality and trauma. At its core, The Disability Card Deck is about enabling connections between people, ideas, and lived experiences.
Click here to buy a copy of The Disability Card Deck direct from the artist:
How to Use The Disability Card Deck
the the andThe Disability Card Deck has been designed, first and foremost, for disabled people themselves. Whether you choose to look at the images, read the prompts or both, there’s no “right” answer; it’s about discovery, reflection, and connection. There are numerous gentle ways to engage with the cards;
- Choose one a day as a focus for self-reflection.
- Share the cards with those around you to support in your self-advocacy and self-expression.
- A gentle, positive way to begin a tricky conversation.
- Experiment with grouping, sorting, or ordering them.
- Explore patterns, contradictions and contrasts.
- A creative starting point in your art therapy or counselling.
Using the Disability Deck in Professional Contexts
The Disability Card Deck offers flexible opportunities for delivery across many settings. Since it was released in 2025, The Disability Card Deck has been used as a talking point and conversation starter in therapeutic, educational, and charitable settings, as well as being bought and utilised by many disabled people themselves. It has been platformed online by Outside In, a national charity supporting artists who encounter significant barriers to the art world. It was shared in a workshop for the British Psychological Society at the SE Branch Psychology Festival in Nov 2025.
In a gallery or community setting, the cards can be scattered on a table as an open-ended invitation for visitors to pick up and explore them. The colourful and intriguing illustrations encourage visitors of all ages to engage with them. Perhaps, you could hide them in the nooks and crannies of your venue for visitors to undertake a unique and thought-provoking journey of discovery.
The cards are an ideal as a starting point for workshops and discussions, bringing a novel and creative prompt to conversations about disability, health and access. The Disability Deck can be accessed on a number of different levels, making it a suitable starting point for disabled and non-disabled people alike, including those with learning disabilities, communication differences, or limited prior experience with creative activities.
Click here to buy a copy of The Disability Card Deck direct from the artist: