When did it dawn on you (if it has) you're viewed as a person with disabilities?
Won't bore with details but reaction by 2 people close me brought it home with a bump!!
Off out this morning to enjoy a brunch at a lovely cafe set by a river, near me (y)
Enjoy your day 
Well I am not a person with disabilities and would be very angry to be described as such. I have a disease and take medications for it but it does not define me as a person. Anyone who described me as such would really get an earful. lol x
Quite agree..I have RA & am not as agile as I was….and like you ML….anyone who referred to me as disabled…might end up that way themselves.
Depends a little bit what you mean by classed as disabled: for the purposes of the equality act, which is one of the most common definitions used, people with most forms of RD would be classed as disabled. So would people with asthma. And heart disease. But a number of those in the latter group are the fittest and most active they’ve ever been for having had a heart attack, running and cycling miles, and would also therefore not consider themselves disabled for obvious reasons. I’ve met the equality act definition for years, long before my IA was the issue it is now. However, I tend to use ‘having disabilities’ rather than ‘disabled person’, as I do feel there’s a distinction.
My physical body is most certainly disabled...I can't walk, I'm in pain, I need help with lots of things I didn't pre RA.
And, I spend so much time at home as I'm not 'able' enough to get out.
Same here, but I still choose to have disabilities over declaring myself a disabled person. Exception being if someone asks me if I’m disabled, I would always answer yes. Until I can no longer reliably function independently at all, even with adaptions and aids, then having disabilities is my self-assigned label. Same with my daughter with life-limiting complex needs: is she disabled? Absolutely. Do I use that term to refer to her? No. There was very little disabled about her yesterday whilst tearing around the seafront at Weston-super-mare, but she’ll spend the first 2 or 3 weeks of the summer hols in hospital again 🤷♂️ Perhaps rather than saying there’s a distinction, what I really mean is that I feel the wider connotations (societal, not mine!) of being a disabled person are unhelpful. Disabled and disability as words are used to focus on what people can’t do rather than what we can. Can I do what other 39 year olds can? No. But I couldn’t do what other 25 year olds could, either, and my daughter has never been on a par with her peers. If we focused on that, we’d both probably give up: disabled feels a little too much like focusing in the wrong place.
I think it also depends on how you as a person define disabled....I am disabled in that I am not abled, it is a fact for me. I can't do things that most people my age can do, or that people of mg age would expect to be able to do, but I don't focus on being disabled.
I think sometimes it is the way society at large sees disabled people, that is the problem, rather than being disabled in itself.
Quite so. I'll not walk up Snowden again nor indeed will I walk the Great Wall of China but I'm still relatively well and able to do take my time to do most things.
I don’t think I am viewed as a person with disabilities by people I know, although I do know I have disabilities no one ever says anything but then I’ve had them a long time so I just get on with it and don’t let things stop me from living my life. What on earth did they say to you and why was it a shock?
I asked a close friend if they would consider going on a coach trip that includes Monet's garden & Versailles, explaining would need to use my wheel chair for the latter venue.
Response was coach trip (5days) not their thing, but if I paid their fare would do it !
Few days later has asked her mum about it and suggested I go with her who is renowned
for taking on "lame ducks".
All part of life's rich tapestry, anyway I'm going away with family for a few days in France.
Oh I deffo don't see myself as a person with disabilities in a negative sense, I get out
and about , do my garden (or maybe it does me haha), look after our grandson have
done for years, and so on.
Have a good un
What a horrible thing for her to say. She’s lucky she didn’t get a snack in the face. Enjoy your holiday and forget about those kinds of people.
I definitely don’t see my self as a person with disabilities - I’m very much with Medway-lady on this. I am a person with a chronic disease trying my best to get on and live life.
I see myself as disabled. I've had RA for 51 years (dx age 6), it's caused lots of damage that has required surgery and still requires surgery.
Under the Equality Act 2010, I do consider RA has a substantial and long term negative effect on my day to day living. I successfully sued my employers in 2001 under what was then the DDA 1995 for disability discrimination.
I don't have disabilities, I have reduced abilities.😀 You can feel sorry for yourself or get on with life and do what you can, maybe change the way you do things. I know which one I would rather do. All the best.
At the moment I see myself as disabled. I can’t do physically what a healthy 54 year old should be able to do. There is no stigma to that and it doesn’t mean that I am not trying to push to do more but I have to realise that if I try to act fully abled I end in a lot of pain(as I did this weekend). I’m also expecting that it will be temporary and when on the right drugs I’ll no longer be disabled. I would not like to consider that by calling oneself disabled gives the connotation of giving up or being some how inferior.
I do see myself as disabled as I really struggle to do most things now. I do put a positive spin on it by saying well yes I just do things differently and it may take me longer now. Having said that I still don't like it when people just assume I can't do something and jump in to help without asking first. I always respond with if you could just let me try first, I like to do what I feel able to do thank you. Over time I've learnt to see things from a disabled person's perspective and feel that it it's given me a stronger voice to fight for what I need and not just accept what I'm told at face value in regards to my many conditions.
Hi
Between my joint pain, hearing loss, balance disorder and anxiety I'm slowly coming to terms with this idea of having a disability of sorts and yes it is hard mentally and can be lonely.
I suppose some people may say they're 'disabled' others may prefer to say they have a health condition which significantly impacts their life. The 2010 Disability Act was a godsend.
For me, I'm in a quandary because on good days I look very well but people don't see me lying down for large spells and I don't like to talk about it. It has affected my friendships as some of them don't really understand my condition is fluctuating with my inner ears and sometimes they say oh you're ok now? I may be oversensitive but it comes across a bit judgy so I share very little with them about my health now. Just the way it has developed.
I've recently started to see my life differently and more positively and decided to go a lot of places eg a trip on the train/bus with my husband or on my own - which means I can go home if I feel unwell and don't have the pressure of committing to too many things with friends.
I've lost a lot of connections with friends who are sort of unwilling to understand and, after many years of being a consumate people pleaser, I'm happy focusing on myself for a bit.
With my hearing I feel better saying to people I need to see your face, after a few times with someone maybe mumbling or covering their mouth with their hands, talking from another room. Once people knew this it was easier but a lot of people - friends included- continue to forget. Slightly off tangent but your question has helped get it off my chest!
I don't work and recently gave up teaching due to hearing loss and balance problems. I have had Psoriatic Arthritis for 7 years and psoriasis for 30 years, hearing loss for 8 years. My skin is great but the pain in my joints and tendons fluctuates a lot!
Thanks for your thought-provoking question
Enjoy your brunch, that sounds lovely. 🌸
Interesting comments, yes like you finding it easier to go places on my own. Difficult going places with OH he hates seeing me so limited (has actually said this) is a very fit man, so we accept doing some trips on our own.
We still have some lovely friends we meet up with who've not changed their view of us,
my health issues.
Brunch was lovely, cafe by the river Hamble in Hampshire.
Looks amazing - what a lovely picture! Glad you had a lovely time. It sounds like you have a good balance going. xx
Well the penny dropped with me when my 2 year old granddaughter mentioned it out of the blue. I have absolutely no problem with being called disabled and consider myself as such. I don’t get the old fashioned stigma which still exists with the label. I’m not defined by my disability but sometimes it’s helpful to have the label as I can get assistance when I know I’m absolutely unable to do something which isn’t often because I’m very stubborn lol. I am ME always will be but I don’t give a damn what other people think and I have absolutely no problem being ‘disabled’. My mother in law has been disabled all her life and has suffered needlessly on a number of occasions with her not even telling her own doctor she’s had polio she makes me mad to be honest coz we bare the brunt of it much as I love her.
I didn't consider disabled until had to complete forms for flying,you then need 'special assistance ' but can't fault either Gatwick or Lanzarote airports for there kindness and help.
I was down for special assistance too - because I couldn't wear a mask due to panic attacks and hearing difficulties so it went down as special assistance. A part of me felt weird seeing it in black & white. Yes airline staff were great and very understanding. xx
When I was first diagnosed, I was virtually unable to move my limbs for 2 years; that did it…🥹🥴. People were very uncomfortable with my use of the term ‘Crip’; a reclaimed word rather than a derogatory one. My referring to myself as ‘d/Disabled is still rejected by some, as they would have to rewire their brain to cope… I ‘look’ fine 🙄.
Very empowering what you did with the word xx
My husband and I often refer to my issues as my Crips! Said with positivity and often a bit of a laugh! Still get bad looks from strangers when he ask's if my Crip hand can do things or does he need to help! lol
I'm not disabled but I do have disabilities which I live with! I think its all in the way we see things! x
It is absolutely the way we see things. If I was able bodied, I would not be at home in pain, attending a medley of health care workers. I would be travelling enjoying my retirement. Therefore I am disabled. The fact that it doesn't define me doesn't alter the fact my body is disabled.
Brilliant ! You’re the first person , other than me , that I’ve come across who uses that word . I’ve always called my blue badge my ‘cripple card’ - much to the dismay of people who hear me use the term for the first time . It may not be PC ( horrible term ) but it’s my card and my way of acknowledging my disabilities in a light hearted way and addressing them . I would be careful not to address any other person's card in the same way .
The same goes for my ‘cripple stick’ when I need to use it .☺️😉
It highlights others’ fears I think. Like you, I only use it to describe myself.
Good morning, I now struggle to walk whilst waiting for both knees to be replaced, one of my neighbours now tries to avoid me, the kids on the estate laugh and taunt. I do have a go at them. One occasion my walking stick fell onto the floor as I was packing some shopping, I struggled to pick it up, a man swore at me and tried to push in front. I got nasty, partly because I was in pain at that moment. I used to walk miles, including hills, done Snowdon twice et al now I struggle. Not nice.🐕🐕
This year I finally got the permit for accessible (handicapped) parking. The doctor had no hesitation when I asked him to sign the application. I also bought a transfer bench to help me get into the tub to take a shower. I admit to myself that, in spite of my former stubborn pride, I do have a disability, and these things are a help to me.
My physical body is most certainly disabled...I can't walk, I'm in pain, I need help with lots of things I didn't pre RA.
And, I spend so much time at home as I'm not 'able' enough to get out.
But being disabled doesn't define me, I see the term as indicating that I am not as able as I was. At 63 years old I should be more able bodied than I am.
How many have housekeeping help & how do you know when you should make that choice?
No blood checks when collecting mxt from pharmacy.
When will my health ever get better.......
When It Rains It Pours
When to give up on a drug 
