Disabled People Are Expected to Be Their Own Case Managers — And It’s Exhausting
There is a strange expectation placed on a lot of disabled people that does not get talked about nearly enough. We are expected to be patients, advocates, researchers, schedulers, administrators, record keepers, benefits navigators, and crisis managers all at once. And we are expected to do it well. Not just occasionally. Constantly. A lot of disabled people are basically forced into the role of their own case manager, whether anyone uses that language or not. We are the ones tracking appointments, keeping documents, following up on referrals, arguing with programs, explaining our needs, remembering deadlines, filling out forms, chasing updates, comparing services, and making sure one part of the system does not quietly break while we are busy dealing with another.
