Can I call myself disabled?
Hello there!
Im Edgar, 23 y/o and I live in an institution for people with all kinds of disabilty, learning, physical and mentally. Im living there because I've mixed personality disorder and schizoaffective psychosis (at least my psychiatrist once told me Ive psychosis but it's not written down so Im unsure). Im also a trans man, have asthma, PTSD, chronic pain, back problems and Im sick every month (literally). Most times, I just have some sort of flu or cold but it always hits hard.
Here in Germany, we have some sort of a handicap ID. A handicap ID is like an ID what tells you your grade of disablity. I don't have an ID yet I got a grade, 30%. The 30% are just from my mixed personaltiy disorder. That's probably because they didnt take my other issues serious or dont know of them because I have struggles talking to doctors.
And I was wondering if I could call myself still disabled, even if I have a lower grade and am not completely diagnosed? What is needed to be allowed to call oneself disabled? Are there rules? I dont want to sound disrespectful so Im asking all of that. Every kind answer is welcomed and I would love to know more about the right description of my situtation :)
Thank you for listening!
@Edgar8 Short answer: Yes, you can call yourself disabled, as far as I can tell.
The definition probably differs depending on your local laws. In Germany (according to the website WeCapable):
Individuals may be considered as disabled in Germany “if their physical functions, mental capacities, or psychological health are highly likely to deviate for more than six months from the condition which is typical for the respective age and whose participation in the life of society is therefore restricted”.
Either a personality disorder or schizoaffective disorder could certainly restrict your participation in society even without the other conditions you suffer from.
Charlie
Disability criteria is so varied and can be pretty complex. I think a lot of the gatekeeping comes down to funding. In general, if you identify as disabled because of illness, pain, a condition, neurodiversity, etc. I think it's a legitimate way to identify - it shouldn't be dependent on a set of rigid criteria. Some care is needed when ticking off a box (especially if the government is involved) though because of all of the different rules and laws.
Within the subcommunity here we are inclusive, including to those who don't identify with label, but connect with the topics that we do cover.
@AffyAvo
Thank you so much!
I think I can identify with the lable since I can only work at a handicap workshop and need to be taken care of like with my meds, my appointments and such. I have a lot of struggles to deal with that hinders me to do almost everything that isnt physical. So that makes me disabled. And that's okay.