Identify as Having a Disability?

This was on a survey I did the other day. I have to wonder why it does say, "Do you have a disability or disabilities?" To say identify implies, you may not actually have one, you just like to say you do, or you think you do when you don't.

It's like depression, a lot of people feel sad and call it depression when in reality it's not the same thing at all.

Now I'm full on behind gender identity and identifying as Male Trans female and all the many variations, but this is not cool to me.

As someone with a disability I can back up with a letter from a doctor, this is just astonishing to me. Then again, I'm on SAID - a disability program from Saskatchewan Social Services. When it first started and I was being interviewed for eligibility, I asked, "do you need a letter from my doctor?" The answer was, "no you just need to self declare as disabled." I remember saying, "That is really a bad idea" to the lady interviewing me.

Turns out I was correct, it was a bad idea and later after a flood of people going on SAID, they changed the requirement to needing proof. Unfortunately, they also started to deny every application on the first round and you had to appeal and apply again to get on, even with medical documentation. I found out later this is common across the country.

Wording is everything sometimes, and this is one of those times.