What It’s Really Like Hiding Your Disability Because of Culture Expectations

In this episode of What It's Really Like, I sit down with disability advocate, entrepreneur, and author Tiffany Yu for an honest conversation about identity, belonging, and creating change. Tiffany shares how growing up as an Asian American woman shaped her experience with disability, the challenges of navigating multiple identities, and the journey from self-acceptance to empowering others. We discuss the importance of community, representation, disability pride, and the lessons behind her groundbreaking book, The Anti-Ableist Manifesto. Along the way, Tiffany opens up about her personal story, advocacy work, and what it really takes to build a more inclusive world. Whether you're disabled, an ally, or simply curious about how identity shapes our experiences, this conversation offers valuable insights, practical takeaways, and plenty of inspiration. Follow Tiffany: Instagram:   / imtiffanyyu   TikTok:   / imtiffanyyu   YouTube: ‪@imtiffanyyu‬ LinkedIn:   / tiffanyayu   Website: tiffanyyu.com And if you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who would love the conversation 💚 Chapters: 00:00 Cold Open: Grief, Disability & Hidden Truths 01:05 Welcome to What It’s Really Like 01:23 Who Is Tiffany Yu? 02:39 The Accident That Changed Tiffany’s Life 05:11 What Tiffany Remembers From the Crash 09:07 Medical Trauma, Childhood Memories & Agency 10:00 Why Tiffany’s Family Hid Her Father’s Death 12:30 Reconnecting With Her 9-Year-Old Self 15:00 Family Healing, Immigrant Parents & Messy Grief 18:00 Advocacy as a Part of Healing 19:17 Learning About Her Injury in the Hospital 22:21 IEPs, School Support & What Tiffany Didn’t Receive 24:00 Molly’s Experience With School Accommodations 27:31 Giving Disabled Kids Agency 30:00 Meeting Someone With the Same Disability 32:30 Feeling Different Even in Disability Community 35:00 Being Hope for Newly Disabled People 38:10 From Hiding Disability to Writing The Anti-Ableist Manifesto 40:16 Disability Pride, Asian Identity & Belonging 42:39 Starting Diversability in College 45:00 Why “Diversability” Is a Name, Not a Euphemism 47:15 Medical Model, Charity Model & Disability Tragedy 50:20 Finding Community and Owning Disability Pride 52:33 Medical Model vs. Social Model 55:00 Wanting a Cure, Changing Your Mind & Learning Out Loud 59:34 Goldman Sachs, Corporate Life & Disability Identity 1:03:48 “I Don’t See Your Disability” and Other Microaggressions 1:07:38 Everyday Self-Advocacy, Steak & Asking for Access 1:10:24 Writing a Book With Speech-to-Text 1:12:30 Accessibility, Opting Out & the Burden of Other People’s Comfort 1:15:24 Getting Fired & Pivoting From Corporate America to Advocacy 1:18:00 Rebuilding Diversability as a Young Professionals Community 1:21:08 Building a Portfolio Career 1:22:35 How The Anti-Ableist Manifesto Began 1:25:30 Writing a Book Rooted in Community 1:27:40 Releasing a Disability Book During the Death of DEI 1:30:30 Book Launch Pressure, Silence & Trusting the Timing 1:33:01 AI as an Accessibility Tool 1:35:30 Why AI Needs Disabled People in the Room 1:38:00 Losing Opportunities by Standing Behind Your Values 1:39:02 Reinvesting the Book Advance Into Disabled Community 1:41:59 The Real-World Impact of Tiffany’s TEDx Talk 1:45:00 Molly’s Children’s Book & Giving Back to MIRA 1:45:45 The Awkward Question 1:46:32 “Blind Leading the Blind” & Disability Language 1:48:00 Does Policing Language Help or Hurt? 1:50:00 Reclaiming Harmful Phrases 1:52:30 Why Language Still Matters 1:55:00 Blindness, Deafness & Common Phrases 1:57:16 Visual Descriptions and When They’re Actually Useful 2:00:00 Why Disabled People Don’t Have to Agree 2:01:13 Who Tiffany Is Today 2:02:32 Where to Find Tiffany & The Anti-Ableist Manifesto 2:03:00 Closing 📚 ORDER MY MEMOIR: UNSEEN: How I Lost My Vision but Found My Voice — available now! Tap the link in bio to get your copy. 🐾 Support My GoFundMe for The Mira Foundation (guide dogs for the blind): https://gofund.me/5d8fc57f 🛍 Shop My Amazon Favorites: www.amazon.com/shop/mollyburke (Find my go-to vision boarding book, motivational stickers, and more in the Health & Wellness section!) 🐝 Join the Killer Bee Club on Patreon:   / mollyburke   🎧 Listen to my audiobook “It’s Not What It Looks Like” on Audible: https://audible.com/mollyburke 📲 FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Instagram: @mollyburkeofficial TikTok: @mollyburkeofficial Twitter: @mollybofficial Facebook: Molly Burke Official 🌐 Learn more about me: http://mollyburkeofficial.com