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Crip time refers to a concept derived from disabilities studies that describes the ways in which people with disabilities experience and manage time differently compared to their non-disabled counterparts, leading to systemic barriers and exclusion. It challenges the assumption that there is one "normal" and "right" way to move through time---that everyone should work at the same pace, recover at the same speed, and achieve milestones on the same schedule. Instead, crip time recognizes that bodies and minds are diverse, and that this diversity includes how we relate to time itself.
At its core, crip time is more than just about "needing extra time" to complete tasks. While that is part of it, reducing crip time to just mere accommodation misses the point entirely. Instead, crip time requires us to reimagine what can and should happen in time, and to recognize that expectations about "how long things take" are based on very particular kinds of bodies and minds---ones that are healthy, energetic, and able to sustain focus without extensive rest. When those expectations are treated as universal, they become a form of exclusion.
This exclusion is what scholars may call temporal inaccessibility or timeism. We are familiar with spatial accessibility---ramps, elevators, wide doorways---because we can see when a space is inaccessible. But temporal inaccessibility is invisible. It is built into the structure of deadlines, work schedules, academic timelines, and even social expectations. It is the assumption that everyone can work a 40-hour work week, that everyone can recover from exertion overnight, that everyone can think clearly and consistently from 9-5. For people with Energy-Limiting Conditions (ELC)---including narcolepsy, ME/CFS, fibromyalgia, and Long COVID---these assumptions are not just inaccurate; they are harmful.
Visual 1: Graphic comparing spatial accessibility and temporal accessibility.
To understand why, we must first understand what Energy Limiting Conditions actually are. They are not simply "feeling tired." Fatigue, in the ordinary sense, is something most people experience and can push through with effort or recover from with a good night's sleep. Energy impairment is different. It is a biological limitation where exceeding one's energy budget does not just cause discomfort---it causes relapse. This relapse, often referred to as Post-Exertional Malaise (PEM), can mean days, weeks, or even months of worsened symptoms. For some, it means becoming housebound or bedbound. The stakes of "pushing through" are not temporary tiredness; they are potentially catastrophic loss of function.
Visual 2: Table comparison of ordinary fatigue and energy impairment.
Living with an ELC, then, requires constant calculation. Every activity must be weighed against its energy cost. A task that requires a non-disabled person one hour might take someone with an ELC three hours---not because they are less capable, but because they must intersperse work with rest, or because cognitive dysfunction ("brain fog") slows processing, or because the physical act of sitting upright itself is draining. Moreover, there is a hidden labor of disability itself: attending medical appointments, navigating bureaucracy for accommodations, arranging personal assistance, and constantly explaining one's needs to skeptical others. This labor is rarely recognized or counted, yet it consumes time and energy that could otherwise go toward work, relationships, or rest.
The result is a fundamental disparity in available time.
Visual 3 compares the waking hours of a non-disabled person to those of mine (this guide's creator), who lives with Type 2 Narcolepsy. Where a non-disabled person might sleep for roughly one-third of their life, a person with narcolepsy or idiopathic hypersomnia (IH) may sleep for two-thirds. The result is half the waking hours---yet the expectation to accomplish the same amount of work, education, and personal care remains. This is not a matter of "poor time management"---math proves it is impossible.
Visual 3: The Sleep Disparity
This disparity has profound mental health consequences. The pressure to "keep up" with non-disabled peers---to appear "high-functioning"---leads many to sacrifice rest, personal care, household maintenance, or attendance at work. A messy home becomes a source of shame, especially when family members interpret it as laziness. Relationships become strained under the weight of unmet expectations. The individual internalizes the message that they should be able to do more, that their limitations are personal failures. This is internalized ableism, and it manifests as anxiety, depression, and chronic stress.
The label "high-functioning" is particularly treacherous. When someone with an invisible disability appears capable, accommodations are often denied. Yet maintaining that appearance requires enormous effort---effort that is invisible to others. The client who seems to be managing well may be doing so at the cost of their health, sacrificing rest and recovery to meet external expectations. They may be afraid to ask for help because they have learned to that their needs will not be believed. They may not even recognize their own oppression, taking pride in their ability to "keep up" even as their body sends warning signs.
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