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Beyond User Advocacy: How to Advocate for Disabled Users

Hosted by Frank Spillers

In this video

What you'll learn

Bring disabled people into the work

Learn how to advocate for meaningful disabled-user involvement throughout research and design.

Advocate beyond the interface

Learn how to trace exclusion across touchpoints, journeys, and organisational systems.

Turn disability evidence into action

Learn how to challenge assumptions and secure accountable decisions. Move accessibility from tactical to strategic.

Why this topic matters

Designers are encouraged to be user advocates. But that does not transfer to disabled users. This risks exclusion, mismatching the goals of accessibility. Yes, WCAG provides an essential technical baseline. But, compliance alone misses the journey view. Barriers can appear: support, documentation, authentication, physical spaces, org policies, or inaccessible recovery routes. Disability advocacy gives us the tool to improve access work.

You'll learn from

Frank Spillers

Award-winning Design Leader with 25+ years (Nike, Microsoft, Gov UK, World Bank)

I’m an inclusive service designer, UX leader, educator, and founder of Experience Dynamics. Since 2001, I’ve helped organisations improve products & services. My experience spans Microsoft, Nike, Intel, the World Bank, local gov, and UK gov departments including DEFRA, GDS, and DWP.

I hold an MSc in Cognitive Science. My expertise includes service design, UX research, VR/AR, localization, inclusive design, AI, and org change. I have trained hundreds of teams privately and over 150K learners at Interaction Design Foundation.

I teach methods tested within complex, real-world teams. You'll learn how to gather stronger evidence, involve people with lived experience, influence stakeholders, and turn design work into actionable results and outcomes.

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Go deeper with a course

Inclusive User Research Intensive
Frank Spillers
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