Gray Uses Creative Outlets to Advocate and Educate
In October we celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month by spotlighting people with disabilities who are out in the workforce.
Christinne Gray is an entrepreneur who encourages others to advocate through creative outlets to promote inclusion and disability representation.
Christinne grew up in Brooklyn, New York, but moved to Orlando in 1996 to attend the University of Central Florida. She’s been the owner of Disability Designs Etc, for three years. In addition to being a business owner, Christinne is a YouTuber, public speaker, and author, who uses these platforms to advocate for inclusion, acceptance, and to promote positive messages about people with disabilities.
In 2025, she published her first novel, Mandated Renaissance, which features a person with a disability as the main character. Through her writing, she portrays people with disabilities as authentically strong, empowered, and determined to succeed in life.
When she is not working, she likes to spend time with her family, exercise, read, and cook. On her YouTube channel, Healthy Living with a Disability, Christinne shares recipes and tips for using adaptive tools to make cooking more accessible.
Employer: Self-employed
Current Position: Author, speaker, content creator on YouTube and Substack
Years on the job: I've been working for myself full-time for probably three years but I've been writing for a long time. I started writing in high school, but it seems like I started writing before that.
Duties and Responsibilities: I manage social media, write, engage with the community, maintain a Substack, and YouTube channel, and attend conventions to promote disability inclusion and acceptance. I also sell merchandise. I think YouTube encourages people with disabilities to get creative and think outside the box.
What is the best advice or encouragement you’d give to a fellow self-advocate about accessing or keeping employment?
The best advice I'd give a self-advocate on getting or keeping a job is to do the best you can in your role. And if you have a traditional job and need an accommodation, don't be afraid to ask for it. Employers may have a specific procedure for requesting accommodations, but don't let that stop you from asking if you need one,
What’s the most important employment-related challenge you face as a person with a disability? I think one of the most important employment-related challenges we face as people with disabilities is showing employers that we can actually do the job. Too often, employers see us or hear us and immediately become nervous or make assumptions about what we can or cannot do. Even for me, I have a disability, but I don’t necessarily sound like I have a disability. I actually say it like that because someone once told me that I couldn’t be disabled because I didn’t sound disabled.
How should we be advocating for better employment opportunities and practices in Florida? As far as advocating for better employment opportunities, I think it really goes back to educating people about people with disabilities and encouraging employers to focus on our strengths and what we can do rather than what they think our limitations are. I truly believe that everyone has limitations. Our strengths can help us overcome our limitations and weaknesses, and there are often accommodations and other ways to compensate for limitations.
In your opinion, how does working impact a disabled person's quality of life?
I think employing people with disabilities is important to their quality of life because it helps them contribute to their community and the economy, and it gives them a sense of self-worth.
Florida Self-Advocacy Central would like to thank Christinne for her time and thoughtful answers.
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