I'm not an inspirational cripple

I totally agree it's stupid ignorant offensive people that should opt out and do the rest of us a favour

i like your perspective and insight.thanks and blessings

One can find inspiration in the strangest of places and people and a positive of disability is that it gives you a totally different perspective of some you may not appreciated before.
At least that is how I see it.

There is probably a difference between those who are born with a disability or 'aquire' one in childhood and old goats like me who get 'blatted' (is that a word?!) later in life, either gradually or suddenly. Since joining the AbleHere site I have also been made aware (sometimes painfully) of other people's hurdles, struggles and triumphs. It would be easy for me to be introverted and say 'Disabled' means you're a wheelchair user. Of course that's not the case. Some people here have 'conditions' that I have to consult Google or Wikipedia to find out about. I hope to slowly improve my knowledge, partly because I don't want to be 'stupid' but mostly because I don't want to miss out on communicating with interesting people who 'might' regard me as someone too blinkered to understand them or their lives. At the moment I am taking the 'easy' route, trying to think of ways to 'engage' our hearing / sight impaired brothers and sisters. Don't know what or how, but could be interesting (with potentially no positive outcome!). Hey! Stop throwing bricks at me! I'm disabled you know...

Yes the differences are real and often ignored. those born with an impairment are at least spared the sudden realisation that life can never be the same in the way of a person suddenly having to come to terms with a loss of mobility or what is perceived as independence. I have known people devastated because they could not immediately see beyond the fact that they could not do as they used to. It takes time to adjust and find new ways of coping.
The other fact often not understood is the difference between congenital chronic illness and a lifelong disability. I don't have time to go into that right now I've just been called to lunch. A further problematic fact is hidden disability and/or chronic illness, again I'll have to leave that in mid-air!