A state in which an individual is unable to leave their bed due to severe symptoms, often resulting from relapse after exceeding energy limits. For people with ELC, pushing through exhaustion can lead to being bedbound for days, weeks, or longer.
A common symptom of ELC involving difficulty with concentration, memory, processing information, and thinking clearly. Tasks that require mental focus---like reading, writing, or even following a conversation---may take significantly longer and require frequent rest breaks.
A concept from disability studies that challenges normative expectations around pace, productivity, and scheduling. It recognizes that disabled people often need more time, flexible pacing, and different rhythms---and that this is not a personal failing but a response to an inaccessible world.
A radical approach to disability that questions how "compulsory able-bodiedness" is normalized in society. It seeks to make strange the assumptions we hold about bodies, minds, and productivity.
A metaphor for the finite amount of energy a person with an ELC has each day. Every activity---work, chores, socializing, even basic tasks like showering---withdraws from this budget. Exceeding the budget risks relapse.
A term developed by the organization Chronic Illness Inclusion to distinguish disability-related energy deficits from ordinary fatigue. Energy impairment is biologically different; pushing through can cause relapse.
Chronic illnesses involving debilitating fatigue, including narcolepsy, ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, Long COVID, and autoimmune diseases. These conditions are often invisible, poorly understood, and lack clear biomarkers.
A problematic label used to describe disabled people who appear capable of meeting normative expectations. This label often leads to denial of accommodations, as others assume the person "seems fine." Maintaining this appearance usually requires sacrificing rest, health, and personal care.
A state in which an individual is unable to leave their home due to symptoms. For people with ELC, relapse can result in being housebound for extended periods, unable to work, attend appointments, or participate in social life.
The process by which disabled people absorb societal messages that their limitations are personal failures. This manifests as shame, self-blame, and the belief that they should be able to do more---even at the cost of their health.
The worsening of symptoms following physical, cognitive, or emotional exertion. For people with ELC, exceeding energy limits does not just cause tiredness---it causes relapse that can last days, weeks, or longer. Also called "payback."
The recognition that time itself can be a barrier. Temporal accessibility means designing schedules, deadlines, and expectations to accommodate diverse bodies and minds---not just making physical spaces accessible.
A term introduced by Georgiadou & Damianidou (2025) describing the privileging of normative temporal expectations and the devaluation of bodies and minds constructed as "too slow," "unproductive," or "out of sync" with the dominant temporal order.