The Reality of Dynamic Disability: Progress or Just Another Hurdle?

"Oh, so you only use a cane sometimes? Must be nice to be able to turn your disability on and off!"

Ah yes, the Olympic sport of explaining your existence to skeptics. If you have a dynamic disability, you’ve probably had to defend yourself to nosy coworkers, confused strangers, or that one distant relative who thinks WebMD makes them a medical expert.

Society loves a simple, clear-cut disability narrative: you’re either disabled or you’re not. You either need mobility aids all the time, or you’re faking it. You either work full-time, or you’re incapable of working at all. But for millions of people, ability is not a fixed state. It ebbs and flows like an indecisive tide—sometimes manageable, sometimes utterly debilitating, often unpredictable.

Enter dynamic disability, a term that finally captures what many disabled people have been screaming into the void for years: disability isn’t always constant. And acknowledging that could change everything.

1. It Validates a Real Experience

If you’ve ever felt like your fluctuating symptoms make you less “legitimately” disabled—congratulations! You are not alone. Society has spent centuries assuming disability is either permanent and obvious or non-existent.

The concept of dynamic disability (also called episodic disability) recognizes that some conditions are fluid—where ability varies day to day, hour to hour, or even minute to minute. Think of conditions like multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, POTS, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and mental health disorders that come with unpredictable highs and lows. (Source: National Multiple Sclerosis Society)

Having a term that acknowledges this fluid nature helps legitimize these experiences—and gives people a way to explain their condition without resorting to an interpretive dance of frustration.

2. It Pushes for Flexible Accommodations

Most systems are designed for consistency. Workplaces expect predictable schedules. Government benefits rely on fixed assessments. Public transport assumes that if you needed a seat last week, you must always need one—or never.

Recognizing dynamic disability could help shift these rigid structures by encouraging adjustable accommodations, such as:

• Flexible work hours & remote options

• Seating & mobility access without the need to "prove" constant use

• Disability benefits that account for fluctuation instead of punishing it

(I know, radical idea: designing society to accommodate real human beings instead of bureaucratic spreadsheets!)

(Source: Job Accommodation Network)

3. It Challenges the "All or Nothing" View of Disability

Some people think if you’re not constantly disabled, you must be faking it. These are the same people who assume someone using a wheelchair one day and walking the next is committing high-stakes insurance fraud.

The idea of dynamic disability fights this nonsense by reinforcing that fluctuation doesn’t equal fraud. You can be disabled on Monday, slightly functional on Tuesday, and back to needing a mobility aid by Wednesday—and all of those realities are valid.

It also helps those struggling with internalized ableism, constantly wondering: “Am I disabled enough to ask for help?”(Answer: Yes. Always yes.)(Source: Disability Rights UK)

4. It Can Lead to Better Policy Reform

Having a clear term for fluctuating conditions helps advocates push for legal protections, employment rights, and better accessibility policies.

The dream? A world where:

• Workplaces accommodate fluctuating conditions instead of penalizing them.

• Benefits assessments don’t operate under a “prove-you’re-disabled-24/7” model.

• People stop staring when someone uses a mobility aid one day and walks the next.

We’re not there yet. But naming the problem is the first step to fixing it—or at least making it harder for policymakers to ignore.(Source Human Rights Commission)

The Downsides of Dynamic Disability Recognition

And now, for the less optimistic part. (You knew this was coming.)

1. Employers Still Want "Reliable" Workers

Sure, dynamic disability is real—but does your boss care? Probably not.

Most workplaces value consistency over accessibility. A fluctuating condition means an unpredictable workload, and let’s be honest: many employers would rather hire someone “reliable” than adjust their rigid expectations.

You can explain spoon theory all you want—capitalism doesn’t care.(Source: The Center for Disability Rights)

2. More Scrutiny, More Gatekeeping

"Dynamic" sounds a lot like "inconsistent," and that’s exactly how some institutions will interpret it:

• Benefits assessors might deny support if they believe you’re capable some of the time.

• Employers might refuse accommodations if they assume you’ll "recover" between flare-ups.

• Strangers might side-eye you for using a mobility aid one day and not the next.

We already fight for credibility daily—this could add yet another excuse for people to question our needs.(Source: National Council on Disability)

3. It Reinforces Guilt & Mental Exhaustion

Many people with dynamic disabilities already feel guilty for their fluctuating abilities. Society is obsessed with productivity, so when your body refuses to cooperate, the emotional toll is immense.

Labeling dynamic disability doesn’t remove that guilt—it just names it. And that alone won’t stop people from feeling like a burden.(Source: Mind UK)

So, Does Dynamic Disability Help or Hinder?

The term is useful, but it’s not the solution.

Yes, it helps challenge outdated disability stereotypes. Yes, it can push for more flexible accommodations. But it doesn’t fix employer discrimination, benefit system failures, or the exhausting pressure to justify your existence every damn day.

Instead of debating who “counts” as disabled, we should be fighting for a world where accessibility is the default.

Because the real problem isn’t whether disability is static or dynamic.The real problem is a system that still refuses to accommodate either one.

Final Thought:

If society put as much energy into fixing inaccessibility as it does into questioning disabled people’s legitimacy, we wouldn’t even need this conversation.

But until then, stay strong, my friends. We’ll keep fighting, keep explaining, and keep sighing dramatically when someone says, "But you looked fine yesterday!"