So, this post is for our friends.
I have a disabled parking permit. I got it when I turned three. Now, we can park in the disabled parking spots. We usually do.
We have had people stare at us, and frown and judge. Mum jumps out of the car, and looks young and healthy, and people think she's rude and 'stealing' someone's parking space. And then, she carries me out... and usually, the frowning person turns away. Once we get a wheelchair for me, people will really accept the need for us to have a parking permit. If I'm not in the car, Mum and Dad can't park there.
What we most like about the disabled parking spots, is the extra width.
We need the extra width, to carry me out of the car, without hitting my head or legs on another car.
These parking spots are usually very close to the shop entrance, which is a good thing, and there are usually less roads to cross. These are safety things, and they are important.
Some of my friends can get out of the car, all by themselves.
They can see and sit and stand and walk, and some can talk.
They don't necessarily look 'disabled'.
But, some of my friends need a parking space that is close to the shops, and has fewer roads to cross. For some of my friends, it would be dangerous for them to have to walk across the parking lot, between cars.
For some of my friends, the shopping centre is a place of crazy chaos, frantic noise and overwhelming sensations. By the time they get back to the parking lot, they might be so overwhelmed and uncomfortable, they might not be able to focus on cars. Their behaviour might be less controlled and safe, as their chaotic confusion fills their every being.
At these times, if my friends have to walk through a car park, it could become very, very dangerous. By parking in a closer, disabled parking spot, these dangers are reduced, or removed.
For some of my friends, they may have chronic pain, and walking long distances might be almost impossible.
Some people have mental illnesses, heart conditions, chronic fatigue... the list is long.
You can't always see a person's disability.
People with disabilities, who don't look 'disabled', sometimes get judged for using disabled toilets, too. We've not really used many disabled toilets, yet, because I am still in nappies. I usually get changed, in the back of our car.
(I possibly always will be in nappies.)
Often, disabled toilets are another place where people get judged. But, for some people, they need the extra space these toilets provide. Someone might have a colostomy bag, or toileting issues.
Some people deal with hidden illnesses, every day.
Just because they cannot be seen, does not mean their disabilities do not exist.
It would be wonderful, if people only used the disabled parking spots, if they had a disability. That way, there would be no judgments on the people who don't seem to have a disability.
It took three years, a couple of official diagnoses and several pages of paperwork, complete with professional signatures, for me to get a disabled parking space.
We wish we didn't need it...
We wish I could run to the shops, by my self, but... I can't.
If someone carries a disabled parking permit, they are entitled to it.
Their disability may not be easily seen, but it is there.
This post is for my friends... the ones who get the "But, you don't look disabled' comments. Let's help raise awareness.
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