"Identify as having a disability"

It’s a perfect way of putting the question for me.

If asked if I have a disability (in circs where I need to disclose) then the answer if ‘yes’.

But do I consider myself disabled, or require any particular adjustments? No

I was discussing the difficulty of even getting shortlisted for interviews once they have sussed out that I am late fifties from their sly questions about education. The person I was talking to actually said that I should say I have a disability to get a guarenteed interview. I was a bit perplexed at that. Mind you the way my hips and knees feel these days it wouldn't be a huge untruth.

My local council offers 'guarenteed interviews' for disabled people.

They advertised for a trainee teacher of the deaf. They wanted a willingness to learn BSL and a few other bits.

I have a degree in Deaf Studies, fluent BSL, a teaching qualification and a disability. I didn't even get an interview.

I chased it up and apparently as I had delivered training on an inset day they didn't interview me.

I was discussing the difficulty of even getting shortlisted for interviews once they have sussed out that I am late fifties from their sly questions about education. The person I was talking to actually said that I should say I have a disability to get a guarenteed interview. I was a bit perplexed at that. Mind you the way my hips and knees feel these days it wouldn't be a huge untruth.

I have a degenerative condition that may be or become a disability depending on various things. I don't consider myself disabled now, although I need to make adjustments for it. When I was waiting for diagnosis - ages! due to waiting for scans etc - I obviously had no official medical documentation stating I had this so for a intends and purposes I was just self identifying as disabled. As I could pick an choose when to reveal this depending on what I was doing. Office work - no. Retail jobs - definitely needed to. For example. Im not eligible for disability benefits but theres a number of things I cannot and will not ever be able to do because of it, that do affect my working life. So disability isn't clear cut and is hard to measure.

Completely agree with others, this is so disabled people can choose not to reveal it if they want to and has been this way for a very long time. I am deaf and will say so. There is only one adjustment for me at work, but 99% of people I meet would have no clue I am deaf. That doesn't mean I'm not disabled (though I certainly don't feel I should have any entitlement to certain provisions available for disabled people in general.)

This is at least the second time I've seen identify as disabled drawn into the debate on feminism recently. Stop picking holes in the way a minoriry is treated to try and have another go at a different one.

I'm HOH. I could be labelled as having a disability but I don't feel as if it's serious enough to have one, so I don't identify as disabled if that makes sense?

I’d agree it’s a ‘clumsy term’. I’m Autistic. I would say I have a disability but am not disabled. I’m able to work, I doubt I’d qualify for PIP. But it does impact on my life and ability to do some things.

There are degrees of disability and impairment and I think it’s trying to gauge if for the purposes of what you’re referring to in that specific instance, do you think your disability would impact on it?

I have recently filled in an application form which asked if I considered myself to be disabled. I have had to put yes, because under the equality act according to occupational health I am disabled. If I put no it is a lie. But I don’t actually want to share that information, because I think that by sharing that information I am likely to be discriminated against.

I'm both dyspraxic and suspected autistic. I'm not seeking a diagnosis for the latter due to my field of study and concerns it may hold me back in seeking employment (there's still a lot of stigma re autism and a stigma that, although I can challenge, doing so takes up a lot of mental faculties)

Furthermore, DS is awaiting an assessment for ADHD and Dyspraxia, so he identifies as having both in lieu of his formal diagnosis that he's yet to receive.

Particularly where a lot of women are involved, there are barriers to getting diagnosed, and in respect of this, a lot of people who feel they meet sufficient criteria do self-identify as disabled.

Hope that makes sense.

I worked with a guy who had two tin legs. He never acknowledged that he had any problem or disability.

A colleague tried to be helpful by telling him about something or other he could claim.

“Why you telling me about that? Nothing the matter with me.”

Retreat of embarrassed do-gooder.

This question has come up before and I don't really see how to resolve it. Some people favour the language of 'idenity', others feel excluded by it.

My partner has single sided deafness which is an issue employers need to know about for example. He does not 'identify' as half deaf, he just is half deaf. If you asked him 'do you identify as disabled?' he'd say no. If you ask 'do you have any medical conditions that we need to take into account?' he'd say yes.

His brother suffers from schizophrenia. He has been very unwell of late, but when he was more stable absolutely loathed the term 'people with schizophrenia'. He described himself as schizophrenic (or more commonly a schizo) and did not appreciate do gooders telling him his own description of the extremely distressing illness that he, not they, has to deal with was 'wrong' or 'outdated'.

This one isn't a circle I can see a way to square.

"Consider " works for me.

I don't know how this can be solved though.

Some people, me included, don't consider themselves to be disabled, even though looking at me you might think that I am. Other people might not look disabled but are. Not everyone with the same condition will be affected in the same way so it's not even as simple as naming conditions and then saying everyone with X condition has a disability. Other people with fairly minor conditions might be badly affected by them and have a disability as a result.

I think asking individuals if they consider themselves to have a disability is probably the right balance here.

Well the phrase is wrong. I don't identify as having MS. I have MS.

That question is worded like that to allow people to identify out of a category they might be in, depending on context, not for non disabled people to identify into.

"Identity as" is a clumsy term in this context. I'm not disabled enough for a blue badge etc. I have MS. You can't tell by looking at me. Sometimes I need a seat or I need extra time to complete a task or I'm not well enough to do stuff. I didn't choose this. I'm not "identifying as" having MS some days and not others. I have MS. It's not too bad. I am up front and tell people because it makes it easier for them to understand my bad days.

I am not keen on self-ID or social model disability. I will always be autistic; it may affect me to a lesser or greater degree depending on the situation, but I have a measurable, identified impairment compared to the non-disabled population. It also, as other posters mentioned, has the connotation of you can choose to be disabled (ie you fancy larping it for fun) or can choose not to be (you don’t need the accommodations you rely on to get through life).

Seems to be a really unpopular opinion in autism groups, though. Don’t know if other disability communities are the same.

So disability is how a choice and therefore the individual's responsibly. I choose to be disabled it would seem.

No I fucking don't. I am, whether I like it or not, incomparison with able bodied people I am disabled. No fucking choice.

Oh, clever. I can imagine how this is going to go. Logical conclusion.

I'm disabled. I may or may not answer that question on a form, depending on whether it's relevant or whether I consider it any of their business. Especially if it's nothing more than a tick box statistics exercise. And then it does, purely depend on, how I feel about classing myself as disabled or having that identity etc etc, which is very sticky territory for many reasons.

In dealing with discrimination as an employee directly related to not being able bodied, which was threatening my career and ability to have a job, yes, I had to not only disclose my disabilities but attend HR medicals and agree to my dr/hospital notes being shared, to prove that I was of a group for which these resources are provided. This did provide independent confirmation to my employers that yes, legally I was disabled, therefore I was protected by the EA, and I would have legal recourse against them if they did not take this seriously.

My self description is entirely up to me. However the actual meaning of the word and group in terms of accessing protected resources for those genuinely needing them is not something someone can opt into without the confirming evidence.

I never know what to put for this question. I have MS and have been very lucky in the treatment I've had for it. So it doesn't limit me at all.

It’s difficult.

Technically I meet the criteria under the EA to refer to myself as disabled - but I struggle to use the term, as I look completely healthy / “normal” and if you call yourself disabled you get that look.

whether I would say I identify as disabled would depend on the context - I wouldn’t say yes unless it was for something I’d require adjustments for or protection under the law.

I have several linked health conditions that do mean that I have disabilities. However, I don't think of myself as being disabled, despite finding activities of daily life hard.

I just get on doing what I can because I'm scared to get into the mindset of "I have a disability" but that's just me and how I choose to deal with it. I would rather try and block it out than acknowledge it.

'They' have to ask the question and I can't think of a better way to do it. Its been used for years, afaik way before the term started to be used by other groups.
I was offended the first time I was asked this, because I don't identify as disabled, I just am. But then I realised that there is no official register of disabled people and no way to formally separate the disabled from the able bodied, and especially not one that would include people waiting for a diagnosis.
(Thank God, because the way things are going a formal register would be a really bad idea.)

It's because the legal definition of disabled is variable. You can look at the Equalities Act, but even a doctor, for most issues which are pretty clearly a disability, can only say they believe their patient's situation means that are likely to be classed as a disability. It can only be confirmed in a court of law, for example during litigation around discrimination at work. For the majority of disabled people, they wouldn't ever go near a court.

Disability badges for parking etc, only cover a fairly small section of disabled people, just like disability benefits, so these are not a useful way of determining who is disabled.

There are also issues that disabled people sometimes take a long time before they and their families are prepared to admit they are disabled, especially if they were not in the past. It involves an acceptance that the 'old you' is not coming back, and a grieving process. It took me years to admit I needed the help, and I still hate having to say I need a chair, or help, or a wheelchair at the airport. What's really annoying now I've eventually got to the place of being able to ask for help rather than pushing on and damaging myself, is that because I am youngish and often don't have obvious signs, people will argue with me and say I can't be disabled.

I have a heart condition, means I can't walk far, or stand for long. I have never considered myself disabled, I can just about get on with things otherwise...

I would love to "identify as disabled" if it meant the chance of a seat at an airport security line for instance. But there are lots of people in the same boat as me, so would think that this could "dilute" things to a very great degree, get people taking advantage - when everyone identifies as disabled - what then ...