I feel something that's often missed in discussions of severe vs not severe disability is that "severely disabled" is a separate but sometimes overlapping category from "severe [diagnosis]." it's possible to be one without the other because every diagnosis will have a different spectrum of severity. someone with severe POTS might not qualify as "severely disabled" while also qualifying as being severe compared to other people with POTS. a lot of people with not severe disability overall end up considering themselves to be severely disabled because they are told they have severe [diagnosis] by a doctor and there's not really much emphasis on the difference in the community.
"severe [diagnosis]" is determined by your level of severity relative to other people with the same diagnosis. "severe disability" is about your level of severity compared to every single disabled person out there.
Genuine question because I realized I may have been inaccurately describing my conditions as severe when they’re likely not—
I have a diagnosis with “severe” in the name, but my condition heavily varies day-to-day. There are some days, weeks even, I struggle getting out of bed or can’t at all. Then I have some days where I can walk all day without my cane or chair.
Would it be more accurate to describe it as a “highly variable” issue, then? Or does that constitute severeness even though it’s not an “every day” problem for me? The amount of pain I’m in is still severe and doesn’t improve, just how well my muscles want to function
@briarpatch-kids you know more about severity labels so if you're up for it then it would be great to hear from you
I think this would best fall under what people call "dynamic" disability if you want like, a way to describe how variable things are in shorthand. I would personally say like "when my disability is severe" to describe periods where I needed someone else to help me with things like bathing and dressing and "when I'm doing better" for when I can I do those things for myself.
@creacher-art
