Disabled Pride - Why Would You be Proud of Your Disability?

How can you be proud of your disability? How can you be proud to be disabled? How can you be happy about something that drastically changes your life? Why do you want to be proud about something that society doesn't cater for, something that society looks down upon? Isn't disability a bad thing?

July is Disability Pride Month. Although June was LGBTQ+ Pride Month, Disability Pride Month is not related to this (although, of course, there is a lot of crossover and intersectionality is important to acknowledge). Disability Pride Month is about being proud to be a disabled person, and about embracing your authentic disabled identity and community.

This image shows the Disability Pride Flag - a flag with a grey base and 5 colours (red, yellow, white, blue and green, from left to right) all going diagonally from the top left corner to the bottom right.

Disability Pride Month has it's own flag and it is made up of carefully selected colours, chosen to represent certain groups within the disabled community. The red is to symbolise physical disabilities, yellow for neurodiversity, white for invisible disabilities and undiagnosed disabilities, blue for emotional, mental and psychiatric disabilities, and green for sensory disabilities.

It took me a long time to accept and recognise that I was (and am) disabled. For three years as a teenager I lived with ME/CFS and was mostly bed-bound. I spent over a year denying my chronic illness. I pretended it wasn't happening to me, hoping that if I imagined it gone, it would be. I went so far as to ban my parents from discussing my sickness with others. I was confused and ashamed. There is a lot of stigma within society around being disabled and/or chronically ill.

A lot of chronically ill people choose not to identify with the term disabled, and that is okay if that is their choice. I don't see it that way, however. My chronic illness, my ME/CFS at the time, left me unable to attend most of my schooling, forced me to give up hobbies and to change my plans for the future. I relied on my parents for help with everything, from getting out of bed to prepapring my food. My illness was disabling, and therefore, I was disabled (even if it took me years to come to terms with this).

Years later, after recieving my neurodivergent diagnoses of both ADHD and autism, I have been much more willing to accept my identity as a disabled person. I am also dealing with autistic burnout (and quite possibly the return of ME/CFS too) at the moment, which just disables me further. I am disabled, yes, by my neurodivergence and chronic illness(es). But I am also disabled by society.

The social model of disability focusses on viewing disabled people as being mostly disabled as a result of societal barriers, not just by the individual's physical or mental difference/s. The societal barriers towards disabled people exist in many different forms. Barriers can be physical, such as not providing ramps, accessible transport or lifts. Barriers can be systemic, such as inaccessible education, inaccessible information or discriminatory policies. Social barriers can also include attitudinal barriers. Attitudinal barriers include stereotypes, prejudice and ableism, amongst much more.

Disability Pride Month is important in many ways. It is important for increasing awareness around the societal barriers for disabled people and for advocating for change. It is most important in my mind, however, for embracing your disabled identity and who you are.

I am disabled. I am chronically ill. I am neurodivergent. I cannot change these things about myself, nor do I necessarily want to (although, I might choose to get rid of the chronic illness to be honest). I cannot change who I am. So instead of choosing to deny it, as my teenage self tried and failed to do, I choose to accept it. I choose to embrace it.

And, I choose to be proud of myself. So happy Disability Pride Month folks.