What a day!!

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Permalink Reply by Kati on September 4, 2010 at 4:30am

I'm not sure which is worse when they don't relaise you are disabled or when you are more obviously disabled and get talked to like a child!

When mine wasn't as bad but used mobility scooter for distance had once gone down to sainsburys on edge of town on scooter, after managing to walk Inca first with stick so had enough battery to get there and back.

In supermarket one of the shelf stackers said 'those scooters are only meant for people that are old or disabled!' I'm guessing as I look young she didn't feel I looked old enough to be on one, certainly I wasn't expecting to be needing one by age 33! I guess with my hearing aids covered with long hair too she didn't see me as a disabled person which I guess was a compliment! I wondered if she thought it was one of the stores scooters.

My speech was better then so I told her actually it was my own scooter and I used it cos I couldn't balance properly and walk very far.

On the other hand in the last few years when I have been more obviously disabled and for some reason people assume I have CP, I had one old woman park herself next to me whilst I was waiting in chair outside shop for my friend and told me she had a grandchild (cant remember whether she said son or daughter now) that was 'spastic' like me!

I tried to say 'I'm not spastic' the woman looked intently like she was trying to work out what I was saying, I was gonna try again when my friend arrived, I sighed relief, then signed to my friend who had just arrived 'tell her I don't have CP', my friend told her... 'oooh' the woman said, went red and then shuffled off.... we just looked at each other and laughed! we put it down to fact that I was tired and by that time my arms and legs were getting really twitchy after been sat in chair all day (it was last shop before we were going home). But a few others since have made the same assumption so I can only guess that thats the only condition they know of that causes shaky movements in 'young' people.

I could also write a book, about my experiences of been deaf since 16 then the last 8 years with ataxia. My in-laws are forever saying 'she's deaf' to people that walk up behind me or start talking as they turning away to put money in till etc.

I used to have a badge at college on back of my rucksack which said 'I'm not deaf, I'm ignoring you' as a joke and gentle reminder to the other students after one had been running after me through entire length of shopping centre to catch up and say hello, thought she was having an asthma attack by time she caught up with me!! I suggested maybe easier to wait until we got to class to say hello if I hadn't seen her wave and I wouldn't be offended.. lol!

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