What counts as disability?

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  • andrew71
    andrew71 Posts: 1,226
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    Thanks for this part of the forum. I too am one of those who "do not look disabled"
    I have ME and difficutly with my walking. A few weeks ago I parked up in a disabled spot with my blue badge and when I got out an eldery couple informed me that the space was for disabled people. When I informed them I was the gentleman bold as brass said to me "you don't look old enough to be disabled" :confused: Never knew there was an age limit on being disabled :o
  • mcspanna
    mcspanna Posts: 188 Forumite
    It even happens to people with a visible disability! I pulled into an accessible parking space yesterday and was being thrown evils by an elderly couple in the next space - this quickly turned to looking the other way when I got my wheelchair out of the car!

    Thanks Martin for the self-definition clarification. I'm a strong believer in self-definition but originally posted this thread because there seemed to be a lot of people who aren't sure if they qualify and I wanted to demonstrate that they do (legally). Very roughly there are about 20% of people in the UK who would come under the DDA definition, but a staggering 50% of these people don't realise that they do and are therefore missing out on all sorts of things...unfortunately I guess a lot of this is because people don't 'look' disabled!
    "According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way that a bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway. Because bees don't care what humans think is impossible" Bee Movie 2007
  • LameWolf
    LameWolf Posts: 11,234
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    andrew71 wrote: »
    When I informed them I was the gentleman bold as brass said to me "you don't look old enough to be disabled" :confused: Never knew there was an age limit on being disabled :o
    Yes, I've had that. I use a wheelchair most of the time if I'm out, or if it's just a few yards and I'm having a good day, I use two sticks.
    But we parked up in a disabled slot a while back, and despite having my Blue Badge on the dash, a busybody rapped on the window and gave me an earful. Just because I have long red hair, I think......:confused: I assume she thought I was using a badge belonging to an older relative or something.:confused:
    If your dog thinks you're the best, don't seek a second opinion.;)
  • JayWalker
    JayWalker Posts: 110
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    andrew71 wrote: »
    I parked up in a disabled spot with my blue badge and when I got out an eldery couple informed me that the space was for disabled people. When I informed them I was the gentleman bold as brass said to me "you don't look old enough to be disabled" :confused: Never knew there was an age limit on being disabled :o

    I've evn been told that I'm "not old enough to be disabled" by a woman who had parked in the disabled space because her child was in a wheelchair. Does this mean I'm too young AND too old?
  • The same thing has happened to me, I know how irritating it can be if someone without a disability uses a designated disabled parking space, but I think vigilantes should be careful how they approach people they suspect of using a space inappropriately.

    I suffer from chronic refractory angina, and am unable to walk very far because of it. I was verbally attacked by an elderly gentleman when my daughter parked her car with me in it, in a disabled spot. He stood there with his hands on his hips and glared at her. I put the blue badge out on display and then with difficulty got out the car using my walking stick to help. He then launched into a very nasty verbal attack and accused me of faking my disability. He told me that I was too young, and despite the stick and the blue badge, accused me of taking advantage. At the same time his daughter got out of his car, again using a walking stick. I pointed out to him that she looked no more disabled than I, and that you can't always tell.

    This man, was having none of it, and was extremely aggressive and threatening, both my daughter and I were intimidated by him, and eventually I told him to just go away and leave us alone. I was really upset by the whole thing, was literally shaking and of course started with angina, so had to cut the shopping visit short.

    He only left us alone after about ten minutes of shouting at us, because his daughter intervened and told him he was behaving badly. She apologised to us, but he refused to.

    I had a heart attack 5 years ago, and have had freqent hospital admissions with severe angina, I consider myself lucky the angina I had following this event didn't result in another hospital admission or worse.

    I know its silly to let something like that upset me as much as it did, but even now a year or two later I still look out when I am parking, just in case there is someone who is going to have a go at me.

    Lynneb311
  • lynneb311 wrote: »
    The same thing has happened to me, I know how irritating it can be if someone without a disability uses a designated disabled parking space, but I think vigilantes should be careful how they approach people they suspect of using a space inappropriately.

    I suffer from chronic refractory angina, and am unable to walk very far because of it. I was verbally attacked by an elderly gentleman when my daughter parked her car with me in it, in a disabled spot. He stood there with his hands on his hips and glared at her. I put the blue badge out on display and then with difficulty got out the car using my walking stick to help. He then launched into a very nasty verbal attack and accused me of faking my disability. He told me that I was too young, and despite the stick and the blue badge, accused me of taking advantage. At the same time his daughter got out of his car, again using a walking stick. I pointed out to him that she looked no more disabled than I, and that you can't always tell.

    This man, was having none of it, and was extremely aggressive and threatening, both my daughter and I were intimidated by him, and eventually I told him to just go away and leave us alone. I was really upset by the whole thing, was literally shaking and of course started with angina, so had to cut the shopping visit short.

    He only left us alone after about ten minutes of shouting at us, because his daughter intervened and told him he was behaving badly. She apologised to us, but he refused to.

    I had a heart attack 5 years ago, and have had freqent hospital admissions with severe angina, I consider myself lucky the angina I had following this event didn't result in another hospital admission or worse.

    I know its silly to let something like that upset me as much as it did, but even now a year or two later I still look out when I am parking, just in case there is someone who is going to have a go at me.

    Lynneb311
    I have PTSD (post trauma stress). Shaking is a really healthy response to someone else's (thinking or unthinking) awfulness. Please accept your shaking as a healthy response as that will reduce your stress levels (worrying about shaking sends them up) and cool the angina. I lived for nearly 45 years with shaking scaring me until I paid for some very specific and very expensive trauma therapy. I have shaken so much and tried to hide it that my joints are worn and arthritis is crippling, to use the old term for impaired. I'm only 51.
  • lynsey78
    lynsey78 Posts: 224 Forumite
    Some people fail to recognise epilepsy, people who have epilepsy that is not totally controlled and have fits still are not able to drive, a big disability in itself. Obviously the council now supply bus passes and you can purchase a rail card, but no benefits are there. Some people including myself have problems working full time as it is tiredness and stress that affects people/
    Love my hobby ;-)
  • Swirley
    Swirley Posts: 69 Forumite
    Hi. I'm new so if this is in the wrong place, I humbly apologise!!
    I too am disabled. I already had spinal problems, but when I was 18 I had an accident that completly messed my back up. When using the disabled bays at Asda etc, old people would glare at me, like I had no right to be there. I even had an old lady come up to my face screaming that the bays were for disabled people. I showed her my orange badge (as it was at the time), then got on my crutches to limp away. She did no more than demand the store manager make me move my car! Luckily the manager saw my side an explained that young people can be disabled too, and I had every right to use the facilites. Victory for young disabled people. Thank for a great thread. Jo.
    When life gives you lemons make lemonade. When life gives you chocolate......eat it! :rotfl:
  • my mother is registered disabled she is registered blind and has a disabled badge as long as i can remember she has been treated differently to other people one example is if she uses her stick (which she no longer does as someone stole her purse while she was shopping) shop assistants always press the change into her hand hard so she knows what she has got she also get stared at but nosy ppl who dont know any different she now uses a badge as a friend takes her to town and gets funny looks !

    just because she can walk and talk and lives alone doesnt make her less disabled just independant ! people in the street still talk to her sometimes she hasnt got a clue who they are if they dont say there name

    sorry to waffle i just wanted to put my 2peneth in ! it still shocks me that people are treated differntly

    there are still people out there who claim to be disabled and really are not !! hopefully the state will keep outing these people and take the goverments money back ! i am in no way detracting from everyone out there that does suffer disabilities it just makes me mad to the cheek of some "humans" who choose to deface out goverment
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  • Ames
    Ames Posts: 18,459 Forumite
    I don't want to sound ageist, but it's interesting on this thread and the hidden disabilities one how much older people have a go. It drives me mad when elderly people park in disabled bays (without a badge) when they're more sprightly than me, and give me dirty looks for parking there. It doesn't happen as much now though, since the supermarkets started being more aware about disabled parking.
    Unless I say otherwise 'you' means the general you not you specifically.
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