Mandy Oaklander | November 08, 2026

For people with disabilities, mobility aids can expand access and independence. But stigma and fear of judgment keep many people from using them, writes Nicole Clark in a new essay for TIME.

TODAY’S TOPICS

17 cats, zero answers
Why PCOS was renamed
Rethinking mobility aids
Studying her own cancer

QUICK CHAT

The 17-cat mystery

I recently interviewed pediatric dentist Liel Grinbaum about the strange things people do with their extracted teeth. At the end of our conversation, I mentioned my cat Bruno, who'd just had an eye removed.

That reminded Grinbaum of an ex-girlfriend whose family had a rather mysterious number of cats. He'd visit her house and see two or three wandering around, but whenever he asked how many they actually owned, he couldn't get an answer. The mystery lasted longer than their relationship. —Angela Haupt

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Omer Taha Cetin/Anadolu Agency—Getty Images

Wait, you dated someone for a year and a half without knowing how many cats her family had?

Every time I came over, I would see maybe two or three cats here and there. And every time I asked her how many cats her family had, she never answered.

How could you not figure it out just by looking around?

A lot of them had the same fur, so from far away, it looked like I was seeing the same cats again.

And you were still wondering about this after you broke up?

After we broke up, I had one final question. I said, “Can you please tell me? I know you had the same two or three cats I kept seeing.”

Please tell me she finally gave you an answer.

She did. They had 17 cats in the house! It took that long to get the answer, but it was worth it.

THE QUOTE THAT STUCK

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We have put this condition in a little black box of secret women's business about their ovaries. We need to take it out, look at it, and recognize that the science is evolving.

Helena Teede, professor of women’s health at Monash University in Australia

In a recent interview, endocrinologist Helena Teede described her realization 14 years ago that sparked the process of renaming the condition once known as PCOS. Thanks in part to her leadership, it is now called polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome (PMOS)—a change that officially happened in May.

The new name reflects the fact that PMOS is a systemic hormone disorder, affecting the heart, metabolism, and mental health: not just reproductive health. —Veronique Greenwood

Read the full story here.

SUNDAY READ

No one should be shamed for using a mobility aid

By Nicole Clark

Matthias Bein—picture alliance via Getty Images

The right mobility aid can open up the world. When fitted correctly, it’s an extension of the body, a way for people with disabilities to participate in society more equally. Just like using crutches for a broken leg, using a wheelchair or rollator shouldn’t be controversial or brave.

But despite how life-changing mobility aids can be for the people who need them, they are also heavily stigmatized. A 2024 study in Disability and Health Journal that surveyed 60 wheelchair users found themes of feeling “patronized.” “People are weird about it,” reported one wheelchair user. “I often have people just openly stare or come up and ask invasive questions.”

This is especially true for people, like me, with invisible disabilities—impairment that isn’t externally obvious—and people with dynamic disabilities, whose symptoms change from day to day. These types of disabilities are fairly common: an estimated 70% to 80% of disability is invisible, and such disabilities are often misunderstood. Just because someone is an ambulatory wheelchair user or only uses mobility aids during a flare-up doesn’t mean they don’t need them. And it certainly doesn’t mean it’s okay to shame people who use them.

Read the full essay here.

TIME100 Most Influential Companies is expanding

TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2027 entries are now open.

With new Exceptional Workplaces categories, the TIME100 Companies publication is expanding to recognize businesses pioneering new approaches to how people work, from flexible and hybrid work to technology integration and career development.

Because it’s no longer just what you do, but how you do it.

Submit your company.

WHAT WE’RE READING

Dr. Jennifer Guerriero spent her career researching breast cancer—then received the diagnosis herself. ABC News shares one doctor's extraordinary experience.
Struggling to fit exercise into your week? NPR's Life Kit asks fitness experts how to build a realistic routine.
There’s an art exhibition devoted entirely to dachshunds. Soumya Sagar at Smithsonian explores the sausage dog's surprisingly rich artistic history.