What does “disabled” look like?

In this episode of Chronically Able, Elisa unpacks the reality of living with invisible illness and why disability doesn’t have a single aesthetic, uniform, or visible marker.

From parking lot judgment to medical dismissal, we explore what it means to look “fine” while managing chronic illness internally. Elisa shares personal reflections on autoimmune fluctuation, credibility in doctor’s offices, and the emotional weight of constantly being evaluated in public spaces.

This episode covers:

• ​ Why invisible illness is still disability
• ​ The history of disability exclusion and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• ​ How medical bias impacts women and Black women
• ​ The impact of fluctuation in autoimmune and chronic conditions
• ​ Know-your-rights guidance for workplace and school accommodations
• ​ Advocacy tools for medical appointments
• ​ Why media representation of disability needs to expand

Disability does not require adaptive equipment to be legitimate.

It does not require visible suffering to be real.

Whether you live with chronic illness, autoimmune disease, or invisible disability or you’re learning how to better support someone who does — this episode invites you to rethink what disability looks like.

You don’t owe anyone visible proof of your pain.

You are Chronically Able.

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🎧 Want to join the conversation?

If you live with invisible illness or you’re a caregiver, parent, partner, family member, or medical professional fill out the guest interest form: beacons.ai/chronicallyable

Let’s expand what disability visibility looks like. Together.✨🫶🏼