And you may well be a very competent programmer, and deserve that recognition.

But the recognition of a PhD is something altogether different. It's not something that any person has a right to. And it seems to me that the only way to get one ought to be to prove that one has earned it, and deserves it. To have a shortcut that says "he could have earned it but for this disability" changes the degree from one of recognizing achievement to a (subjective) judgment of potential.