What's the difference between having a disability and being disabled? Most people use the two words interchangeably, and when they do, "disabled" tends to suggest that something is wrong with the person. I see them as related but different ideas, and this is my attempt to explain why that difference matters to me.

Here's how Merriam-Webster defines them:

  • Disability: "a physical, mental, cognitive, or developmental condition that impairs, interferes with, or limits a person's ability to engage in certain tasks, actions, or typical daily activities."
  • Disabled: "impaired or limited by a physical, mental, cognitive, or developmental condition, or incapacitated by illness or injury."

Both definitions put the limitation entirely on the person. That's the common view, but I think it leaves out an important factor: the environment.

Here's the way I think about it:

disability + environmental barriers = disabled

A disability is a condition someone has. Being disabled is what happens when that condition runs into an environment that wasn't designed with them in mind. This isn't an idea I came up with on my own. It's close to what's known as the social model of disability, and it overlaps with the neurodiversity movement. I came to it through my own experience.

My experience

I was diagnosed with a specific learning disability (SLD) as a child, specifically dyslexia and dysgraphia. For most of my public education, the focus was on getting me to read and write like everyone else. The world was the way it was, and the expectation was that I'd adapt to it.

Over time, though, something started to click. My special education program didn't just work on my skills. It also changed my environment. I received accommodations that supported my progress, and eventually I learned to rely on technology to fill in the gaps. I used text-to-speech for reading and dictation for writing. I even asked for an eReader one Christmas so I could tap any word and see its definition.

None of that changed my diagnosis. I still have dyslexia and dysgraphia. What changed was how much they limited me. With the right tools in place, I still had the disability, but I wasn't nearly as disabled.

I still see this today. When I want to read a physical book, everything around me has to be just right before I can even sit down and get through the pages. With an audiobook, I can enjoy the same book in far more places. I prefer to read along while I listen, and that's an accommodation I now give myself. Same book, same brain, very different experience.

"But you still struggle to read."

Yes, I do. Reading printed text and writing by hand are harder for me than for most people. That's the disability, and I'm not pretending it isn't real. My point is that whether it stops me depends a lot on where I am and what I'm allowed to use. Hand me a printed book in the wrong setting, and I struggle. Give me the audiobook to follow along with, and I can read, and enjoy it, almost anywhere. The difference between those two outcomes isn't me. It's the environment.

I'm also not saying every limitation comes from the environment. Some don't. But far more of them do than we usually assume, and we rarely stop to ask which is which.

Where accessibility comes in

That's why I think any conversation about disability should include accessibility. Making something accessible means adjusting the environment so people with disabilities have equal access. The disability doesn't go away, but the barrier does.

Why this matters to me

I've spent a lot of my life being made to feel defective because my brain doesn't process reading and writing the way most people's do. I don't believe I am. When the environment works with me, I do just fine. That tells me the problem was never only in me.

That's why I make the distinction between having a disability and being disabled, and why I'll keep making it.