Oh god. I have cerebral palsy and there are so many. My favorite are the 'origin stories' that little kids have made up whole cloth without a shred of truth behind them.

• That I was in the army and got blown up 'hurt locker' style in Afghanistan. That was unfortunately my childhood best friend. I guess they got confused because I used to work as a defense contractor?
• That I was hurt street racing a corvette. I have a miata and I've done skip barber racing school, but I'm also the kind of dude that will cruise in the slow lane and listen to an audiobook.

I forget the others, but they're all much 'cooler' than the truth which is I was just born this way. Honestly I don't mind when kids ask me why I walk the way I do but I find it a little rude when they just make shit up and spread it, but I get it, they're kids.

The ones that bother me more are when adults assume that I'm cognitively disabled as well as physically. It's bad enough this happens with random people I meet on the street, but I've also noticed the subtle 'oh no' glance shared between interviewers. It kind of sucks to start out on the back foot and have to prove your competence. Thankfully that's less common now that most interviews have moved online. My current boss didn't even know I had a disability until we met 3 months after I was hired.

Last, probably the worst is that because I'm disabled I'm automatically asexual. Online dating works well enough but those organic meet-cutes in real life are mostly a non-starter. It's pretty clear that I'm simply not thought of as a potential romantic partner by most people I encounter in real life. The worst part is I've basically 'internalized' this. I don't even bother with even the most polite flirting in real life anymore.