@SuperMouse It is understandable how anyone can wonder about the varying differences on the two threads. I don’t think it has anything to do with political correctness.
Looking back on all of the people I’ve met that were living with some type of disability, most of the ones with a physical challenge were fairly obvious. I’ve grown up with and then later worked with several a variety of people that had a physical disability. For those that we can see on the surface, we get over the shock, ask questions, and learn to appreciate them for who they are. The media is filled with heart-warming stories about people with physical disabilities that become heroes for their accomplishments. The Special Olympics might be a good example.
Mental disabilities are often not so visible. There was a guy from a dept. that worked closely with ours. It was several years before I learned that he has OCD and what that was really all about. It now irks me when someone uses the term OCD loosely.
When people can function quite well on the surface while dealing with a disability that isn’t visually obvious, it often doesn’t get discussed. Thus, it is rare that we fully grasp what their real life is like unless in the medical fields or having a friend or family member living with one.
The other challenge is that a physical disability is pretty much whatever it is. A potential partner either accepts it or moves on. Another guy at work only had the upper half of his left arm due to a drug that his mother took while pregnant (‘60s) that caused all kinds of fetal development issues. He didn’t look upon it as a challenge. It just was. His girlfriend (now wife) accepted it as well as he did, probably because of the way he handled it and the fact that it had no negative impact on her life with him.
A mental disability can be a whole other matter. From what I understand, there can be ups and downs in a person’s behavior and emotions. While some people may be more open to riding that roller coaster out of love, I suspect a fair amount would prefer not to.