Advice: Does disabled history belong only to those who would have been there at the time?
I'm in my late thirties and have a big love of modern history. It's very important to me. Today a disability history Facebook group I'm in had a post about Ehlers-Danlos Awareness Month, and there was an argument in the comments about the ADA. Someone said that in 1990 we wouldn't have been 'handicapped' and wouldn't be part of that history.
I was diagnosed with type III Ehlers-Danlos when I was a bit younger than I am now. I used to walk with a stick but since I was 30 my OT has me in an electric wheelchair when I leave the house. I don't think the capitol crawl was about me. I would have had a bit of trouble but could have walked up those stairs if pressed, and I'm not the centre of the world. But this person was saying we shouldn't take pride in the history if we weren't part of that group. For nearly 10 years I have felt welcomed and at home among friends with spina bifida and cerebral palsy, and nobody has ever suggested I don't belong or that our history isn't mine too. I would want to be told if I was stealing what wasn't mine, and I'm worried my friends haven't said anything because they don't have strong feelings about history like I do. Is it wrong for me to feel proud and like this history was from people like me?
Please correct me on anything not right for Reddit, I normally use Facebook and this is new. I wanted to post to the disability group originally but new accounts can't post there. I'm hoping to hear especially from people who are obligated all the time to use their wheelchairs, because they are who I'm concerned I'm doing wrong to.