A Manx charity has launched an awareness campaign in the form of a 24-page educational booklet on the theme of chronic illness and disability.

Without Wings, the Manx Autoimmune Trust, has released the booklet ‘Badly Behaved Ableism’, which is designed to explore and challenge how and why unconscious bias affects the way society sees and supports people with disabilities.

The booklet has been released following the news that an NHS charge based on residents’ income could be introduced by 2027-28 to help fund consistently overspent health services.

A proposed levy of 2%, separate from income tax, could be imposed on all residents, irrespective of their age.

Jackie Morrey-Grace, the founder and chair of Without Wings, said: ‘We were formed in 2016 to raise awareness, and to provide information and compassionate funding to people living in the island affected by certain autoimmune conditions.

‘As well as our pledge to compassionately support individuals and families to thrive and survive what can often be both invisible and life-changing diagnoses, we work to raise awareness of the issues that impact those who fall under our legal constitution.

‘Ableism, the often unconscious prejudice experienced by people with chronic illness and disability, is precisely one of those issues.

‘However, during times of healthcare reform emotions can run high - meaning that if such an important topic isn’t brought to the forefront of people’s reasoning, division and misunderstanding can unintentionally follow.

‘With assisted dying also being discussed at the moment, we therefore thought now was the right time to firmly bring the topic into the public conversation.’

Badly Behaved Ableism offers an educational look at the science behind unconscious bias, with its core message being that ‘it’s no one’s fault’.

Readers are invited to follow the charity’s Lula Bird mascot through eight short, neuroscience-based challenges, specifically chosen to help readers reflect on the subtle ways bias towards chronic illness and disability can creep into everyday lives.

It also looks at how understanding, spotting and stopping these patterns can lead to a ‘fairer, more compassionate society’.

‘This book isn’t about blame, it’s about curiosity, and about recognising why, scientifically, our brains respond in a certain way to situations that may not be automatically visible or easy to understand,’ Jackie added.

‘We’ve therefore worked to keep the tone accessible, warm and a little playful, because fragility and illness are serious topics which are part of every human story.

‘The booklet grew out of research for a social media campaign on the same topic, and we learnt so much about our own unconscious bias whilst compiling the posts that we felt the subject needed a physical form, as the charity continues on its mission to help make our island better.’

A small number of physical copies of the booklet have been sent out to GP’s, libraries and workplaces across the island, while a digital version is set to be available online in due course.

To find out more about Without Wings and the booklet, you can visit https://withoutwings.co.uk/