Tell the Truth—or at Least Don’t Lie: What Does That Mean in Disability?

 

Dr. Jordan Peterson’s rule, “Tell the truth—or at least don’t lie,” has profound implications in the world of disability. But first, let’s acknowledge that truth is complex. There’s your side, their side, and the objective truth. To navigate this, we need a moral framework—whether it’s Christianity, Judaism, Islam, The Way (as referenced in The Mandalorian), or another guiding principle. The real question is: How do we determine what is true?

Knowing Your Disability: Diagnosis, Masking, and Accountability

In the disability space, truth begins with knowing and acknowledging your diagnoses. This means investing time and money into obtaining official diagnoses, understanding their impact, and distinguishing between a medical condition and a disability. Sometimes they overlap, but they can also be entirely separate.

One of the greatest challenges in disability is masking. Many people with ADHD or autism learn to “mask” their symptoms, appearing neurotypical while silently exhausting themselves. However, and this might be controversial, having a disability is not a free pass to be difficult or unkind. That said, ADHD in particular is often overdiagnosed. Some cases may stem from diet, modern lifestyle, and excessive screen time. However, true ADHD is measurable through brain mapping and results from a neurobiochemical imbalance. With the right framework, it can be an asset—but untreated, it can wreak havoc on a person’s life. Treatment isn’t always about medication; sometimes, it’s about getting the basics right. Is your room clean? Do you have the skills to clean it? This leads us to another of Dr. Peterson’s key rules: Clean your damn room.

Clean Your Room—Both Literally and Metaphorically

Peterson’s message about cleaning your room was originally aimed at idealistic university students, but it holds particular weight in the disability community. A clean environment has tangible health benefits—reducing stress, improving focus, and even supporting better mental health. However, not everyone has the physical or cognitive capacity to maintain a clean space. If you’re a mobility aid user or have an intellectual disability that affects executive functioning, asking for help is a crucial skill. This could mean hiring support, using adaptive cleaning tools, or following structured checklists.

Beyond the literal interpretation, “cleaning your room” is a metaphor for putting your life in order before criticizing the world. The world operates the way it does for a reason, and before you call for sweeping changes, you need to understand those reasons. This doesn’t mean the world can’t be improved—it means effective change starts with personal responsibility.

Telling the Truth in Disability: Boundaries, Excuses, and Seeking Support

Telling the truth in disability means being honest with yourself and those around you about what you can and cannot do. If you need care, acknowledge it. There are support schemes available, but accessing them requires effort—financially, bureaucratically, and emotionally. Being truthful also extends to relationships: Be upfront with friends and family about your limitations. If money is tight, maybe bake a birthday cake instead of buying a present. Recognizing the difference between a reason and an excuse is crucial. A disability can be a valid reason for difficulty, but it should never become an unchecked excuse that prevents growth.

This honesty must extend to professional boundaries. Your support worker is just that—a support worker. Even if you are friendly outside of work hours, clear professional lines must remain. This ties into another of Peterson’s rules: Be precise in your speech. Knowing what words mean, using them correctly, and resisting the urge to redefine language for comfort are all revolutionary acts in today’s world.

The Pushback Against Truth: Peterson, Academia, and Standing on Principle

Dr. Peterson has been a controversial figure, particularly when discussing accommodations. However, he has always been an ally to the disabled community in one critical aspect: accountability. He generously provided academic accommodations when they were reasonable and fair to all students. His objections have always been to accommodations that are unreasonable and create unfair advantages, not to the idea of support itself.

Critics often label him a “pseudo-intellectual,” yet his credentials tell a different story. Peterson taught at Harvard, studied totalitarianism, and is the very definition of an academic. He has sacrificed professional and personal stability to stand by his principles—earning him the moniker the Savage Messiah in corners of Reddit and 4chan. Whether one agrees with him or not, his emphasis on truth, responsibility, and order has undeniable value, especially in the disability space.

The Revolutionary Act of Speaking Truth

Telling the truth in disability means resisting social media narratives that push feel-good distortions over reality. It means standing up to those who misuse words they don’t understand or gaslight disabled individuals by calling them “differently abled.” It means rejecting the extremes of both the medical model (which insists disability must always be cured) and the social model (which ignores the real biological and medical factors at play). Instead, the biosocial model, which acknowledges both medical and societal elements, presents a more balanced truth.

Truth-telling comes with consequences. In a world where critical thinking is increasingly rare, questioning mainstream narratives—even in disability—can lead to backlash. But standing by the truth, even when it’s unpopular, is the only way to create real, lasting change. And this is just the start of the conversation.