Dating, Relationships, and Disability

Dating isn't magic—it's a skill set. If you have a disability and feel dating is complicated or terrifying, know this: it can be learned with time, guidance, and resilience. I've dedicated my practice to helping people with disabilities transform their dating lives. If you're ready to stop feeling stuck, keep listening. The Reality Dating is hard. You'll face rejection. But every "no" gets you clo...

Joni Woods is the author of "Burned, Blocked, and Better Than Ever," a book about her divorce experience and re-entry into dating. She wrote the book while going through her divorce in 2016 after 15 years of marriage, exploring both the pain of separation and the unexpected joy of dating again at age 36. She is also a mother of two. The Breaking Point in Marriage Joni stayed in an unhealthy marria...

Dating with a disability feels impossible until you take action. The impossible becomes possible through perspective shift and meaningful action. Understanding Worthy Failures A worthy failure is an intentional attempt where you take a calculated risk and learn from the outcome. Rejection, awkward conversations, and unsuccessful dates aren't signs you're not good enough—they're data. From a growth...

If you're listening around the time this publishes, it's the holiday season—and if you're single, loneliness may be hitting hard. You're not alone. I recently asked single people with disabilities about their holiday feelings. Their responses: wondering why they're still single, missing loved ones, wanting someone to cuddle by the fire with. I remember feeling that same loneliness for years, watch...

Anil Gupta, known as the Love Doctor, has spoken in 18 countries across 4 continents, sharing practical relationship tools. He emphasizes that awareness is the foundation of everything in relationships and personal growth. Core Qualities for Healthy Relationships When choosing a partner, Anil identifies three essential qualities to look for: integrity (being truthful and reliable), being genuinely...

Download My Relationship Vision to help you identify your green flags. Importance of Green Flags While we often focus on red flags in dating, green flags are equally vital—the positive indicators of respect, compatibility, and emotional maturity that signal someone might be a genuinely good match. These are the qualities that make you feel seen, valued, and excited about building something meaning...

Kalindi Jordan is a sex and intimacy coach with 16 years of experience, specializing in helping people develop primary relationships with themselves before entering partnerships. Her work covers sexual intimacy, relationship dynamics, communication, and dating challenges. Personal Journey with Alopecia Five years ago, Kalindi lost all her hair—including eyebrows and eyelashes—within 10 days due to...

About Barb - Boundaries Coach Barb is a boundaries coach, speaker, podcaster, and author who hit a "codependent bottom" at age 52 in 2015. After decades of self-help and therapy, she entered 12-step recovery and discovered that learning to build healthy boundaries was the antidote to her codependency. She's now in her first healthy romantic relationship (7 years), which she attributes to both part...

You know how sometimes life can begin nudging you in a certain direction. At first you say, “Ut uh, I am NOT going there. I’m not doing that.”  But life persists. There are signs, indicators that maybe life is pointing you in the right direction. This is what has happened to me over the last few months. I have decided to close Radiant Abilities at the end of the year. This means the Dating Ma...

Conscious Love and Personal Transformation with Christian de la Huerta Christian de la Huerta, a personal transformation expert with over 30 years of experience, joins Kathy O'Connell to discuss relationships, self-worth, and emotional healing—particularly for people with disabilities navigating the dating world. The Foundation: Self-Worth Christian emphasizes that looking for love begins with rem...

About Tiffany Yu Tiffany Yu is the author of "The Anti-Ableist Manifesto" and founder of Diversability, a community of over 80,000 people focused on disability leadership. She became disabled at age 9 in a car accident that took her father's life and left her with paralysis in one arm. She's also a paraclimber competing internationally for Team USA. Disability Pride and Dating Disability pride is...

Understanding Neurospicy Relationships Dr. Kristen Williamson, a licensed professional counselor with a doctorate in behavioral health management, shares her journey of being diagnosed with autism and ADHD at 39. She prefers the term "neurospicy" over neurodivergent, believing it captures "the spice of life" that comes with different brain wiring. Communication Challenges and Solutions Dr. William...

Take our Dating Confidence quiz here . Understanding Stage 5: The Mastery Phase If you scored mostly D's on our dating confidence assessment, you've mastered the fundamentals of confident dating with a disability. Stage 5 is about maintaining and evolving your dating confidence while helping others on their journey. This stage represents a shift from building confidence to sustaining it - making d...

Upcoming Events 📅 ENROLLMENT CLOSING OCT 25   Dating Made Easier   will be stopping open enrollment on October 25th! After that, we'll only open enrollment at specific times during the year. 🔥   DATING CHALLENGE : OCT 14-17 Get crystal clear on your dating profile and create a winning plan! 🎯   FREE WORKSHOP: OCT 21  "What to Do When Nothing Works in Dating" - This one'...

Upcoming Events 📅 ENROLLMENT CLOSING OCT 25   Dating Made Easier   will be stopping open enrollment on October 25th! After that, we'll only open enrollment at specific times during the year. 🔥   DATING CHALLENGE : OCT 14-17 Get crystal clear on your dating profile and create a winning plan! 🎯   FREE WORKSHOP: OCT 21  "What to Do When Nothing Works in Dating" - This one'...

📅 ENROLLMENT CLOSING OCT 25   Dating Made Easier   will be stopping open enrollment on October 25th! After that, we'll only open enrollment at specific times during the year. 🔥   DATING CHALLENGE : OCT 14-17 Get crystal clear on your dating profile and create a winning plan! 🎯   FREE WORKSHOP: OCT 21  "What to Do When Nothing Works in Dating" - This one's going to be GO...

📅 ENROLLMENT CLOSING OCT 25 Dating Made Easier   will be stopping open enrollment on October 25th! After that, we'll only open enrollment at specific times during the year. ✨ Why the change? So I can pour ALL my energy into getting our current members the dating success they deserve! But first... we've got some AMAZING things lined up for you! 👇 🔥 DATING CHALLENGE : OCT 14-17 Get crystal...

Important Links Mentioned Take our Dating Success Quiz here . Ready to enhance your dating experience? Join our   Dating Made Easier  community for coaching, skills and resources to succeed in dating.   Doors closing soon for new members.   Join today. Sign up here  to get notified about our upcoming free Dating Challenge and our free workshop on When Nothing Works in...

Russell's Background Russell Van Brocklen discovered his dyslexia in third grade and later audited law school classes despite having first-grade reading/writing levels. After successfully improving his skills, he developed programs to help dyslexic students, including one funded by New York State Senate that helped high schoolers jump 6-8 grade levels in writing within a year. Dating Strategy Fram...

The Friend Zone Challenge When you have a disability, society often categorizes you as the "inspiring" or "sweet" friend rather than a romantic prospect. The key is determining whether lack of romantic interest stems from genuine incompatibility or societal conditioning. Reading the Signals Look for signs of romantic potential: one-on-one time that feels different, meaningful physical touch, shari...

Register  here  for the Loving Our Bodies Workshop. Growth and Expansion In just 2.5 years, Dateability has grown from 10,000 to 35,000 members. The platform is now launching an updated app to further support its mission of making dating accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. Accessibility-Driven Features The app integrates specific accessibility fea...

    Take The Dating Success Quiz here . Stage 1: Foundation and Self-Discovery Building your authentic foundation through deep self-awareness and self-acceptance. Key focus areas include understanding your inherent worth, identifying strengths and values, and developing a positive relationship with your disability or difference. Action items include practicing daily affirmations, engagin...

Register here for the Loving Our Bodies Workshop. This workshop helps you develop a healthier relationship with your bodies in the context of dating. Participants learn practical techniques for overcoming internalized body shame, distinguishing between body acceptance and broader self-love, and understanding how genuine self-worth creates more authentic and successful dating experiences. Thro...

Nicole Penrod is an associate marriage and family therapist in California's Bay Area. She has ADHD and is in a relationship with someone on the autism spectrum, bringing both professional and personal experience to neurodivergent dating and relationships. Deconstructing Harmful Messages Nicole introduces the "map of messages" exercise to identify sources of harmful narratives about normalcy. This...

Download  Using AI to Meet People , the resource guide for this podcast. The Problem with Dating Apps Many people with disabilities find traditional dating apps aren't working well for them. The apps don't effectively showcase the fullness of a person, and people often want to meet others locally rather than hundreds of miles away. AI Solution for Meeting People In   Dating Made Easier &...