Different vs. Disabled

Last updated on July 26, 2026

Anosognosia is the state of denying a serious disability. In the most serious cases, it is a mental health disorder, causing the deaf to insist they can hear or the blind to insist they can see. Obviously, not a good thing and potentially dangerous.

I have received e-mails critical of the instances when I have described myself as disabled. People have offered many terms and phrases as alternatives — and I have rejected these: differently abled, special, challenged, gifted, blessed, evolved, perceptually acute, sensitive, et cetera.

I don’t deny my limits. I know I cannot do some things.

There are definitely physical impairments I have that might not apply universally. To assume I am only writing of my unique neurology is a mistake. I am physically disabled; these are mild limits and do not affect my daily existence.

The neurological differences I face are not a “gift” most days.

In “neuro-diversity” communities, there are those who deny autism is anything more than a difference. These are a minority, but a vocal minority nonetheless. The logic of these activists is to challenge and resist public misconceptions of autism, especially within the high-functioning / Asperger’s syndrome subcategories.

It is definitely a disability to be unable to handle mass transit, many public spaces, bright lights, loud sounds, strong smells, and so on. It is not a mere “difference” to be stuck at home many days, unable to tolerate the sensory overload of normal existence.

Yes, I am different, but I’m also disabled.

Do not confused disabled for unable. I think that’s the real concern of activists: having a disability does not mean an individual cannot adapt and plan around any personal limitations. We all work around our limits.