People with hidden disabilities in the UK

HonalD

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/people-with-hidden-disabilities-could-enjoy-new-freedom-with-blue-badge-changes
[font=nta, Arial, sans-serif]People with hidden disabilities could soon have greater access to blue badges under new plans from UK Transport Minister Jesse Norman today (21 January 2018).[/font]

Gatling

I think it's a bad idea it's bad enough seeing how badly badges are abused with invisible disabilities it will become alot worse ,
They should be strictly for people with severe mobility issues ,

Wanderer78

Gatling wrote:

I think it's a bad idea it's bad enough seeing how badly badges are abused with invisible disabilities it will become alot worse , They should be strictly for people with severe mobility issues ,

You d be surprised how complex hidden disabilities are and how they affect people in day to day life. There's a severe lack of understanding in society about them to.

XPS_Zero

Abuse is going to be a matter of how you get the badge.

If you get the badge through a process that proves you have a disability or are on the Disability Allowance payment then it can't be abuse.
To get a doctors diagnosis or letter explaining one, they'll need test results and/or exam results showing one.
To get Disability Allowance you need extensive records, tests etc as well, then your GP, a welfare officer and medical officer need to all agree.

So it can't really be abused. The days where someone went up to the doc and said "ah jaysus I've a bad back dotar" are gone.

XPS_Zero

Just to note , cos I heard a friend suggest this earlier, that it can't happen that way.

He suggested that you can just go to the doctor and kinda explain you have abcdefg symptoms of say depression or an anxiety disorder that you looked up online and they'll diagnose you and away you go.

I remember my consultant laughing at this notion a while back, he explained that the DSM stuff where you take the list of symptoms and do your differential etc is just the start of a diagnosis not the end, that it's much more complex than that. Someone can't just walk in, say "i have this this and this" and they'll rub their chin and go "ok so, you have x - heres your meds - bye!"

Besides in order to have one of these conditions AND get a disability badge it would have to be a disabling condition. There are plenty of people who work who have mental health problems (and a few who mistakenly call 'not being happy with my life' depression) but to be classified as disabled (and get likes of disability benefit) it has to be so intense it's crippling basic daily functioning like socializing and work. These conditions do not just involve a list of symptoms there are more subtle signs of them that doctors would be looking for, even GPs who are not specialists in these areas would quickly see through your BS if you tried to fake it. They probably won't say "theres nothing wrong with you get out of my surgery" because that's too risky, but they might say "You have some kind of problem but it's not a disability".

The DSP uses this to deal with chancers who try to fake it into disability, one of their staff told me their assessors (welfare officer and medical officer ) will never ever say you don't have xyz condition, just that it's not enough to be classified as a disability. They had to bring in these kinda criteria because until about the late 90s there was all kinds of nonsense, people with "bad backs" for the last 30 years who had mysteriously never bothered to go see a rheumatologist or people with depression who never saw a counselor or psychiatrist. Anyone who has a serious medical condition wants it treated.

Isambard

i have a disability, you wouldn't know to look at me, but it's all diagnosed and offcial . I wouldn't dream of applying for a blue badge because I don't need it and can manage to walk from the far end of the car park . I'd probably get one if I asked.

XPS_Zero

The question is will/would this result in a large expansion of such badges? I'm not sure it would. I assume it's not ALL invisible disabilities they are thinking about giving these to, but ones that would be made easier by being closer to the doors etc

That's not very many people, so it might help a few for very little cost to the system

Gatling

XPS_Zero wrote: »

The question is will/would this result in a large expansion of such badges? I'm not sure it would. I assume it's not ALL invisible disabilities they are thinking about giving these to, but ones that would be made easier by being closer to the doors etc

That's not very many people, so it might help a few for very little cost to the system

Based off what exactly -
We have a large number of people on disability allowance in this country ,
Getting disability just means you have an illness or injury that's going to last longer than 12 months ,
There is already talk of giving them to pregnant women too ,
So where does it stop before some common sense is applied if you don't have a severe mobility issue I believe you shouldn't have one ,
Invisible disabilities cover everything from asd, mental health issues, depression , learning Disabilities , speech and language issues ,

HonalD

Gatling wrote: »

XPS_Zero wrote: »

The question is will/would this result in a large expansion of such badges? I'm not sure it would.  I assume it's not ALL invisible disabilities they are thinking about giving these to, but ones that would be made easier by being closer to the doors etc

That's not very many people, so it might help a few for very little cost to the system

Based off what exactly -
We have a large number of people on disability allowance in this country ,
Getting disability just means you have an illness or injury that's going to last longer than 12 months ,
There is already talk of giving them to pregnant women too ,
So where does it stop before some common sense is applied if you don't have a severe mobility issue I believe you shouldn't have one ,
Invisible disabilities cover everything from asd, mental health issues, depression , learning Disabilities , speech and language issues ,

I think the point is that someone can have a severe mobility issue without looking like they have a severe mobility issue. For example, someone can have a physical mobility issue but not be in a wheelchair.
Once that's independently verified by a medical expert then I can't see an issue with this.

amtc

Not in this country but my grandmother is in a wheelchair and my aunt has a blue badge. She doesn't use it when not with my grandmother. However they also have a pink badge which allows my aunt to use when not with my grandmother but doing tasks related to her care. So if my aunt has to go grocery shopping or to the pharmacy or health centre she uses it. The idea is she only has one hour respite so it's a priority pass.

Wait for the inevitable arguments of "my disability is worse than yours, so move your car"

On a serious note, if you parking closer to the door lessens the impact of your disability on your ability to get to the door, then go for it.

The flip side of that is, if parking 20 spots away makes no difference to your ability to get to the door, then it doesn't matter what you have, you don't need a blue badge.

As for mental health issues, there is none that don't benefit from a bit of exercise, so no, this shouldn't qualify.

HonalD

Deleted User wrote: »

Wait for the inevitable arguments of "my disability is worse than yours, so move your car"

On a serious note, if you parking closer to the door lessens the impact of your disability on your ability to get to the door, then go for it.

The flip side of that is, if parking 20 spots away makes no difference to your ability to get to the door, then it doesn't matter what you have, you don't need a blue badge.

As for mental health issues, there is none that don't benefit from a bit of exercise, so no, this shouldn't qualify.

Your last two points show a distinct lack of understanding of the problem of people with disabilities or restricted mobility.

magicbastarder

it's interesting that the problem identified seems to be how much the blue badge system is abused, rather than how much the provision of wheelchair only parking spaces is abused. one is a nuisance or irritant to the able-bodied, the second is a genuine problem for the disabled.

HonalD

HonalD wrote: »

Your last two points show a distinct lack of understanding of the problem of people with disabilities or restricted mobility.

Given I was born with a physical disability I have a greater understanding than most

Isambard

I parked in Cork yesterday in a car park by the Atlantic Pond. There were about three cars there. Guy drives in and parks next to me in one of the two disabled spots, probably had a blue badge, but it did make me think that there were many empty ordinary spots all equidistant from the pond, did he feel he had to park there because of his badge? I would have parked in an ordinary spot as it was available and left the disabled space in case someone needed it later.

Skedaddle

Some disabilities don’t involve a wheelchair.

A relative of mine has extremely bad arthritis issues and she can barely walk 10m and has been shouted at / given out to for parking with a permit in a “wheelchair space” on a few occasions.

She looks fine when she gets out of the car but she literally can’t walk more than a few meters without help a lot of the time. She relies entirely on that permit for independence as she’s able to get into the local shops / get her hair done / go to the doctor and so on.

If she has to use a car park space she just comes back home as she can’t manage it at all.

bebeman

XPS_Zero wrote: »

Just to note , cos I heard a friend suggest this earlier, that it can't happen that way.

He suggested that you can just go to the doctor and kinda explain you have abcdefg symptoms of say depression or an anxiety disorder that you looked up online and they'll diagnose you and away you go.

I remember my consultant laughing at this notion a while back, he explained that the DSM stuff where you take the list of symptoms and do your differential etc is just the start of a diagnosis not the end, that it's much more complex than that. Someone can't just walk in, say "i have this this and this" and they'll rub their chin and go "ok so, you have x - heres your meds - bye!"

Besides in order to have one of these conditions AND get a disability badge it would have to be a disabling condition. There are plenty of people who work who have mental health problems (and a few who mistakenly call 'not being happy with my life' depression) but to be classified as disabled (and get likes of disability benefit) it has to be so intense it's crippling basic daily functioning like socializing and work. These conditions do not just involve a list of symptoms there are more subtle signs of them that doctors would be looking for, even GPs who are not specialists in these areas would quickly see through your BS if you tried to fake it. They probably won't say "theres nothing wrong with you get out of my surgery" because that's too risky, but they might say "You have some kind of problem but it's not a disability".

The DSP uses this to deal with chancers who try to fake it into disability, one of their staff told me their assessors (welfare officer and medical officer ) will never ever say you don't have xyz condition, just that it's not enough to be classified as a disability. They had to bring in these kinda criteria because until about the late 90s there was all kinds of nonsense, people with "bad backs" for the last 30 years who had mysteriously never bothered to go see a rheumatologist or people with depression who never saw a counselor or psychiatrist. Anyone who has a serious medical condition wants it treated.

Here is 2 for you there are many more.
Fibromyalgia
Chronic fatigue syndrome.
No test exists to detect them, its a matter of persistence and insisting you have them. Dont believe it, Google it.
That is all it takes to get a FTP, and whatever other benefits you get