Most of us recognize the handicapped accessible parking designation of the wheelchair silhouette. And the parking spaces allotted to handicapped individuals are designed for maximum mobility and ease of access to all services. But what would you think if you saw what appeared to be a young, strong, perfectly capable individual drive into, park, and stride confidently out of a car parked in a handicapped parking space? Would you call the police to report them, confront them as fraudulently blocking a rightful elderly or wheelchair bound person of their rights? I have seen both of these things happen.
But I would ask you, have you ever considered the hidden faces of disability? I have. Both personally in my family and in my work as a registered nurse. The laws are different in every country around the world, and even here in the US. In Louisiana where I live, in order to qualify for a handicapped license plate, or hang tag, a physician must fill out and sign a form stating that the individual can’t walk 200 feet at length, without stopping to rest, uses portable oxygen, can’t walk without the assistance of another person, walker, cane, crutches, braces, prosthetic device, or wheelchair. It also includes individuals with a cardiac conditions that meet functional limitations. Other included disabilities are arthritic, neurological or orthopedic that create a severe mobility limitation.
Now here is where the hidden disabilities come in. What if that confident young man has a severe cardiac condition? No one would be able to detect it. What about the young woman with the 12 year old daughter who has autism with severe seizure disorder triggered by sun exposure and exertion? What about the hospital van with the three adolescent psychiatric clients on a day pass to the grocery to learn life skills, with one staff member assigned to them, who must be monitored for safety in the parking lot? What about the 39 year old developmentally disabled woman who must hold her mother’s hand so she doesn’t run in front of a car going into a building? … a hidden prosthetic leg?..
These are all real life situations, my patient, my niece, my client, my daughter. Hidden disabilities are real. As real as any mobility impairment, as important, as painful, as debilitating. The physician makes the diagnosis, and we as Local Guides can support and educate the rights of all disabled individuals @ErmesT and @EmekaUlor I am tagging you because I know accessibility is very important to you. Please tag anyone you think may be interested in this post. Thank you.
Maybe we could focus on something related for our next batch of articles?