Fraser Simmonds

An 11 year old disabled wheelchair user living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, dinosaur expert, activist and all round awesome dude!

This young boy has changed society’s perceptions of disability through his social media advocacy platform, Fraser & Friends, with a national and international audience, and has been working hard to create visible change in his local community.

His online profile, with 15,000 followers, educates people from all over the world about living with a positive mindset and aims to break down barriers around disability taboos.

Fraser has been the face of many national campaigns to highlight inaccessibility and his experiences of inequality. He has featured in national and local newspapers, on ITV, and on news channels such as the BBC, Newsround and Channel 5.

Fraser was awarded a Prime Minister’s Point of Light in 2019 and was short-listed for Scope’s Young Campaigner of the Year in 2022. He has also been a Shaw Trust Rising Star in 2021, 2022 and 2023 because he is achieving new things every year, there is no stopping him! He can also add Mountaineering to his CV, having previously climbed Snowdon on his Mum’s back, helping to raise £12,000 for charity!

Fraser’s voice encouraged his Borough Council to apply and secure government funding to install a new Changing Places facility in his local park. In February 2024, he was personally invited to open it, and he cut the ribbon with pride!

He and his family have also been involved in the new designs of two local playgrounds, sharing their lived experience of disability to ensure they will be accessible and give children like him the opportunity to play, something that he missed out on when he was a young child.

He was previously unable to access his local nature reserve due to old inaccessible gates – after campaigning to his local Council, they have replaced gates at four of the entrances meaning wheelchairs, scooters and buggies can now get inside. In addition, they have also added paths, so he is able to explore without getting muddy wheels!

Last year a Tweet featuring him posing for his school photo went viral with almost 60,000 likes – reminding photographers that he wants his wheelchair visible in photos because it is a part of him, he doesn’t want it cropped out or removed.

Two years ago on International Day of Disabled People, Fraser and his sister gave an assembly at school to talk about Fraser’s disability and all the positive things that come with it – they never have to queue at theme parks, he always has clean shoes, and they got to go to 10 Downing Street and stroke Larry the cat! Their school friends asked them lots of questions and learned lots about disabled people in a light hearted way.

The impact of one boy cannot be underestimated – he is making change happen!