Am I Disabled?
For many this answer is obvious, but for those suffering from invisible physical or mental illness, the answer may be more uncertain. The simple answer is having a condition that significantly impedes your life in some way is a disability. But what exactly does that mean?
As a child my asthma was so bad I went to the hospital often and couldn’t participate in sports or other physical activity. (My mom even mistook my social awkwardness as lack of socialization due to always being sick instead of suspecting autism, and I can’t really blame her) I remember wishing I could learn Irish dancing like my sister but I wasn’t allowed because of my asthma. As I got older the severity decreased as medications improved. Now my asthma is more of an annoyance and not something I consider part of my disabilities. I also used to get migraines that prevented me from attending school. Now they bug me as they’ve become milder and more controllable. Of course now I have other severe conditions from anxiety to chronic pain to keep me squarely in the disabled column.
However for other people migraines are disabling. They can’t work, study, drive, or other basic things. They have to try stronger treatments and may need accommodations from work or school. That is classified as disabled.
Disability comes in all shapes and sizes, and especially severity. Being a disabled person and not needing one kind of accommodation doesn’t mean the one you do need doesn’t matter.
We talk about this a lot in the autistic community. Many autistics are considered “high functioning” which is not only ableist against so called “lower functioning” autisrics, it implies that some autistics are not disabled because we can hold a conversation and sometimes make eye contact.
Doctors can help confirm if you’re disabled, but don’t take it as word of god. They can be ableist, they can be wrong and not listen to you. Only you fully know how your condition is affection your daily life.
People will look at those in a wheelchair with a straight face and say the only disability is a bad attitude. If they will discount visible disabilities, of course they’ll downright deny invisible ones. Don’t let their ableism get to you. If you’re struggling in life from a medical condition, it counts and you deserve the help you need to get by.