Today is the last day of Disability Pride Month. I am a person with a disability—chronic pain and limited mobility—caused by hypermobility-type Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. On most days, my disability is invisible. Today, for example, I am feeling great and walking normally, even though I carried my special chair back with me to meet a friend for coffee (chairs hurt).

Embracing a Disability Identity

Some people chafe at how I embrace a disabled identity, because many people (my past self included) hold onto old ideas of “disabled” as weak, bad, or sad, and for someone like myself who has the option to look able-bodied, a sort of capitulation.

The identity is hugely empowering. Since I have accepted that my body has limitations that require accommodations, I have been much more comfortable in........

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