Simone Aspis From the age of 4, attended a succession of residential segregated special schools – an experience that she says resulted in her later activism. Taking and passing a sociology A level marked a key moment in this change. She worked with People First, the UK’s 1st advocacy organisation for people with learning difficulties and in the now closed BBC Disability programmes unit (DPU). Simone has spent over 25 years’ campaigning for disabled peoples’ civil rights: in particular for people with learning difficulties and their access to inclusive education and assessment. She also supported other campaigns like the Disability Discrimination Act, for which she wrote easy read guides. She is currently a Trust for London Disability Justice Fund Panel Member and in the past has worked as an Equality and Human Rights Commission Independent Disabled Peoples Advisory Committee member, a Transport for London Independent Disabled People Advisory Committee member and with other campaigning or advisory bodies.