Disability Pride Month is supposed to be a celebration. And it is — disabled people deserve joy, visibility, and community. But this year, I can’t pretend everything feels like progress. Because if you look at the systems disabled people rely on, it’s painfully clear: we’re not just stalled. We’re going backwards. The reality: our rights and resources are shrinking, not expanding Over the last few years, disabled people have watched essential supports get cut, restricted, or

Something I hear often — especially from people who have never lived inside a chronically ill or disabled body — is that people “make their illness their identity.” It’s said like a warning. Like a failure of mindset. Like something we should avoid at all costs. But here’s the truth: illness is not cured with a good attitude, and it is not pathological to identify with something that has fundamentally changed your life.