Written May 16, 2024. Posted today as an experiment. -Carl
Today, I am sitting on a threshold. It is a threshold I would have liked to have avoided all of my life, or at least until very near the end of it. I have been on disability since September, and there is a kind of eligibility threshold at the one year mark. My understanding (which is poor, a factor in this process) is that it is pretty challenging to qualify for long term disability, but once one does qualify, it is not such a circus to maintain the status.
Of course, I don’t want to qualify as disabled, except, of course, that I am. Physically I’m limited in strength, dexterity, eyesight, and endurance. The more significant (to me) limitation is…cognitive.
I used to be a pretty smart guy. I don’t remember my exact IQ, but it was above average. I was put into the Mentally Gifted Minors program when I was in the third grade. My friend, David Reinhart, was put into it. I was never tested for it, but I was confident that I was at least as smart as David, so I asked Mom if I could test. The teacher told her that it is hard on kids who test and aren’t accepted. Joanne Magruder was of the mindset that people ought to know who they are and where they stand. If I’m not very smart, I ought to know and accept that.
Of course, I scored very well when I was seven, and was put into the Mentally Gifted Minors program. I was much older before I noticed that the MGM kids (later called Gifted and Talented Education [GATE]) were overwhelmingly white. Black, Latino, and even Asian kids were underrepresented in GATE classes in Sacramento in the 70’s and 80’s. Being brown was probably part of why my gifts were overlooked by my kind third grade teacher.
I definitely don’t think, speak, or write as well as I did prior to my head injury. I can’t solve mechanical problems or logic puzzles the way I once did. I have less stamina for any activity, mental or physical. HOWEVER, I could probably pick up trash in a park, or do something else that is very simple. So, am I disabled just because I can’t do what I once did (hospital chaplaincy), or do I only qualify as disabled if I can’t do any remunerative work at all?
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