All disabled people have the right to community, peer support, and spaces where they can connect with others who share their experiences. This page centers disabled people's expertise and lists Facebook groups created by and for disabled people, with guidance on navigating these spaces safely.
Facebook groups vary dramatically in leadership, moderation, values, and safety. Some groups are well-moderated, disability-led, and explicitly anti-ableist. Others are dominated by family members or caregivers, promote harmful narratives, or have minimal moderation that allows ableism and misinformation to flourish.
Key safety considerations:
Not all disability groups are led by disabled people. Many groups are created and controlled by parents, caregivers, or professionals who may not respect disabled people's autonomy or center disabled people's perspectives.
Facebook groups often center parents and caregivers over disabled people themselves, particularly for autism, intellectual disability, and childhood-onset disabilities. Read group descriptions carefully to determine who the group is for.
Moderation quality varies dramatically. Some groups have clear anti-ableism rules and active moderation. Others allow harmful content, functioning labels, cure narratives, or inspiration porn with no consequences.
Facebook collects and monetizes your data. Anything you post in Facebook groups is data Facebook can use. Be aware of privacy implications.
Your real name and profile are usually visible. Unlike Reddit or Discord where you can be pseudonymous, Facebook groups typically require use of your real profile. Consider privacy implications before joining or posting.
Groups can change ownership or be taken over. A group with good moderation can change rapidly if admins leave or ownership transfers.
Medical advice is not vetted. People sharing advice may mean well but may not have accurate information. Always verify medical information with qualified healthcare providers.
Some groups promote harmful practices. Be cautious of groups that discourage seeking medical care, promote unproven treatments, encourage ABA or compliance-based therapies, or foster unhealthy relationships with disability.
Ableism and inspiration porn are common. Even in disability-focused groups, you may encounter functioning labels, "overcoming disability" narratives, inspiration porn, or dismissal of certain disabilities.
Before participating heavily in a group, check:
Group description and rules:
Who runs the group:
Content patterns:
Moderation in practice:
Protect your privacy:
Protect your wellbeing:
Protect yourself from misinformation:
Report and document:
Facebook remains the dominant platform for disability communities among older adults, parents of disabled children, and people seeking condition-specific support. Disabled people use Facebook groups to:
However, Facebook's structure—real names, data collection, algorithmic feed—creates specific risks. The platform's emphasis on engagement can amplify both supportive content and harmful misinformation. This page aims to help disabled people and families find valuable groups while navigating risks.
Focus: General disability support across disability types.
Size: Very large (tens of thousands of members)
Leadership: Mixed—typically includes disabled people, family members, and caregivers.
Strengths: Large enough to usually have active conversations. Mix of disabilities represented. Good for general disability questions.
Considerations: Size and mixed membership mean quality varies. Some content may be parent/caregiver-focused. Verify moderation quality before participating heavily.
Best for: General disability questions, finding others with similar experiences, broad community.
Focus: Disability pride and identity.
Size: Large (thousands to tens of thousands of members)
Leadership: Varies by specific group—verify whether admins are disabled.
Strengths: Focus on disability identity and pride, not tragedy or cure narratives. Generally more aligned with disability rights and justice values.
Considerations: Even groups with "pride" in the title may include ableism. Verify moderation and group culture.
Best for: Connecting around disability pride, identity-affirming community, celebrating disabled people's achievements without inspiration porn framing.
Focus: Disability rights, autonomy, and disabled people's leadership (referencing disability rights slogan).
Size: Medium to large
Leadership: Should be disabled-led given the name, but verify.
Strengths: Explicitly centers disabled people's voices and autonomy. Focus on rights and self-determination.
Considerations: Groups using this name should be disability-led—if admins are primarily non-disabled, that's a red flag.
Best for: Disability rights discussions, autonomy-centered community, connecting with other disabled activists.
Focus: Chronic illness community using "spoonie" identity (based on Spoon Theory).
Size: Large (tens of thousands of members)
Leadership: Mixed—typically includes chronically ill disabled people and some caregivers.
Strengths: Understanding of energy limitation, pacing, and chronic illness experiences. Use of Spoon Theory provides shared language.
Considerations: Focus is primarily chronic illness rather than all disabilities. Some groups may conflate chronic illness with disability in ways that erase other disability experiences.
Best for: Chronically ill disabled people seeking community around energy limitation and chronic illness experiences.
Focus: General chronic illness support.
Size: Very large (tens of thousands of members)
Leadership: Mixed—chronically ill people, family members, caregivers.
Strengths: Large, active community. Many conditions represented. Good for finding others with similar diagnoses.
Considerations: Medical advice varies in quality. Be cautious of unproven treatments. Some groups allow or encourage health anxiety or diagnosis-seeking that becomes unhealthy.
Best for: Connecting with others managing chronic illness, symptom management discussions, healthcare navigation.
Focus: Autoimmune conditions broadly.
Size: Large (thousands to tens of thousands of members)
Leadership: Mixed—people with autoimmune conditions and some medical professionals.
Strengths: Specific to autoimmune conditions. Good for discussing immune system dysfunction, treatments, and shared experiences.
Considerations: Autoimmune conditions vary widely—information relevant to one condition may not apply to others. Medical advice should be verified with providers.
Best for: Connecting across autoimmune conditions, discussing treatment approaches, finding providers who understand autoimmune disease.
IMPORTANT CONTEXT: Parent and caregiver groups often do not center disabled people's autonomy or perspectives. Many promote therapies, language, and approaches that adult disabled people and disability advocates oppose (such as ABA, person-first language enforcement, functioning labels, cure narratives).
If you are a parent or caregiver, consider seeking out groups led by disabled adults with the relevant disability, rather than only parent-led groups. Disabled adults can provide perspective on what they wished their parents had known and done differently.
Focus: Parents of disabled children.
Size: Very large (tens of thousands of members)
Leadership: Primarily non-disabled parents.
Considerations: These groups typically center parents' perspectives, not disabled children's autonomy or wellbeing. Content may include functioning labels, ABA promotion, cure narratives, and framing disability as tragedy or burden. Disabled adults' input is often dismissed or absent.
If you join these groups:
Better alternatives: Seek groups specifically run by disabled adults with the relevant disability, or groups that explicitly center disabled children's autonomy and anti-ableism.
Focus: Parents of disabled children (using "special needs" language).
Size: Large
Leadership: Primarily non-disabled parents.
Considerations: "Special needs" is considered outdated and problematic language by many disabled people. Groups using this language often have not engaged with disability community norms. Expect functioning labels, ABA promotion, cure narratives, and parent-centered framing.
Better alternatives: Seek groups that use "disabled children" or "disabled kids" rather than "special needs," as these groups are more likely to respect disability community norms.
Focus: Navigating special education law, IEPs, and IDEA.
Size: Varies—often state-specific groups
Leadership: Mixed—parents, sometimes special education advocates or attorneys.
Strengths: Practical advice on IEP process, special education law, and advocacy. Can be very helpful for navigating school systems.
Considerations: Legal advice in these groups should be verified—parents share experiences, but legal situations are individual. Some groups may promote compliance-based goals rather than autonomy-supporting education.
Best for: Parents navigating IEPs and special education, understanding IDEA rights, connecting with other parents in your state.
Focus: Autism acceptance community.
Size: Large
Leadership: Should be autistic-led—verify before joining. Groups with "acceptance" in the name should center autistic people, but some are still parent-dominated.
Strengths: Explicitly acceptance-focused rather than cure-focused. More likely to respect autistic autonomy and identity-first language.
Considerations: Even "acceptance" groups may include parents who use functioning labels or promote ABA. Verify that autistic people's voices are actually centered.
Best for: Autistic people seeking acceptance-based community, parents seeking autistic-led perspectives on parenting autistic children.
Red flags in autism groups:
Green flags in autism groups:
Focus: Neurodivergent adults (autism, ADHD, other neurodivergence).
Size: Large
Leadership: Should be neurodivergent-led—verify.
Strengths: Adult-focused (less parent presence). Good for neurodivergent-specific experiences, workplace/relationship navigation, identity.
Considerations: Quality varies. Some groups are well-moderated and neurodivergent-centered; others allow ableism or are dominated by diagnostic debates.
Best for: Neurodivergent adults seeking peer community and support.
Focus: ADHD in adults.
Size: Large (tens of thousands of members)
Leadership: Mixed—adults with ADHD, some medical professionals.
Strengths: Adult-focused. Good for ADHD-specific strategies, medication experiences, and peer support.
Considerations: Some groups focus heavily on medication, which may not work for everyone. Be cautious of medical advice—verify with providers.
Best for: Adults with ADHD seeking peer support, strategies, and community.
Focus: ADA compliance, accessibility advocacy, and disability rights.
Size: Medium to large
Leadership: Mixed—disabled people, advocates, accessibility professionals.
Strengths: Focus on legal rights and accessibility. Good for discussing ADA issues, filing complaints, and advocacy strategies.
Considerations: Some groups may be more focused on compliance than disability justice. Verify whether disabled people's perspectives are centered.
Best for: Learning about ADA rights, accessibility advocacy, connecting with other advocates.
Focus: Disability rights, policy, and advocacy.
Size: Medium to large
Leadership: Should be disability-led—verify.
Strengths: Focus on rights, policy, and systemic advocacy. Good for connecting with other advocates and discussing policy.
Considerations: Some "advocacy" groups may focus on charitable rather than rights-based approaches. Verify group values align with disability rights/justice.
Best for: Disability rights advocacy, policy discussions, organizing.
Focus: Accessible housing, Fair Housing Act, and housing rights.
Size: Smaller (hundreds to thousands of members)
Leadership: Mixed—disabled people, housing advocates, accessibility professionals.
Strengths: Specific focus on housing accessibility and rights. Good for Fair Housing Act questions, accessible housing search, and modifications.
Considerations: Some groups may be more focused on technical compliance than disabled people's housing justice.
Best for: Finding accessible housing, understanding Fair Housing Act rights, connecting with others navigating housing barriers.
Beyond the groups listed above, Facebook has thousands of condition-specific and identity-specific groups. Examples include:
Condition-Specific Groups:
Identity-Specific Groups:
Intersection-Specific Groups:
To find these groups:
When evaluating these groups, use the same criteria: check leadership, moderation, content patterns, and whether disabled people's autonomy is respected.
If you are a parent of a disabled child seeking Facebook community:
Prioritize autistic/disabled adult perspectives:
Red flags in parenting groups:
Green flags in parenting groups:
Recommended approach:
Join both parent groups AND groups run by disabled adults with your child's disability. Your child will grow into a disabled adult—prioritize perspectives that will help you support their autonomy and wellbeing.
Look for groups explicitly for disabled people, not parents or caregivers:
Verify leadership:
Check for anti-ableism:
Many Facebook groups focus on navigating healthcare, benefits, and medical systems. These can be valuable, but:
Verify medical information:
Be cautious of unproven treatments:
Document patterns:
Leave groups when:
You are not obligated to stay in groups that harm you, even if they help others.
If Facebook groups are not serving you well, consider:
See also:
This page centers disabled people's expertise and is informed by disabled-led organizing globally. Facebook groups are created by a mix of disabled people, family members, caregivers, and professionals, and this page aims to help disabled people navigate these spaces safely while honoring the valuable peer support many groups provide. For questions or to suggest additions, see How to Contribute.