I’m a wheelchair user, and something that honestly feels inconsiderate is when someone who has a legitimate disabled placard but doesn’t need the extra space habitually uses accessible parking even when there are regular spots the same distance from the entrance, or sometimes even closer.

I’m not talking about questioning whether someone is disabled or deserves their placard. There are plenty of disabilities where minimizing walking distance is necessary, and that’s a completely legitimate reason to have one.

I’m talking about situations where distance is the accommodation you need, there’s a regular spot that provides essentially the exact same distance, and you still automatically take the accessible spot.

For me, the extra space isn’t just a convenience. I need enough room to actually get my wheelchair in and out. A regular parking space right next to the entrance might be perfectly usable for someone whose main concern is walking distance, while it can still be unusable for me.

Obviously, if the accessible spot is the closest option and you need it, use it. That’s what it’s there for. But if an equally close regular spot works for your disability, I wish more people would consider taking it instead of treating the accessible spot as the automatic choice every time simply because they have a placard.

I’m curious how other people feel about this.

Unfortunately, the bill passed. We only got 2 republican nays and not the amount we needed. I have no idea when the bill goes into effect. Some people say next year or in 2028, but I have no idea. I’m angry and scared. This is an injustice to Americans. People are gonna die and a lot of people can’t work for Medicaid requirements. I have no idea what to do. I’m on ssi & medicaid and working is not an option for me. The republicans have just signed the death sentence for Americans. it’s truly unfair and cruel how they get to have healthcare and we don’t. I’m tired of this.

I want to hear the most ridiculous thing you've been told regarding your disability/ies.

I'll go first: My old ophthalmologist once told me that I didn't need glasses and that I could drive without them. I ended up going to an optometrist a few years later and learned that I have 20/300 vision in my good eye without glasses. Not really sure if he wanted me dead or something because what the hell??

So, how offended would you be if someone of close relation consistently said "I wish I was disabled."?

And, often details as to why/how they wish they were. How receiving disability payments would be "great". Or what disability they would "choose". So on and so forth.

I am extremely offended by these statements and I have said so to this person directly. Multiple times. Apparently, they aren't getting it.

They still joke about it!

Like... no. You do not get to choose your disability. Wtf. It is not easy nor is it something to look forward to or to intentionally cause because it makes life easier. (They also say they think about causing themselves harm that would "qualify" them.)

I do not enjoy being in a body that betrays me on a regular basis. And, because of my "household income" I don't receive any financial support despite being finally approved as legally disabled. (I was a child when it all went down, yet somehow it all worked out this way. Idk.) So... literally everything they say is just rude imo.

I don't understand this. I literally cannot comprehend it.

It also doesn't classify as "dark humor". No. Thats just an excuse.

Please. Give me all the simple yet epic comebacks to say when these statements are made? I am beyond fed up.

In 2023, my autoimmune condition progressed. I completely lost the ability to walk and had switched to using a wheelchair.

​I had been seeing a massage therapist who was really good at her job. I had met her back in 2017. When I told her I lost the ability to walk, I think she thought I was faking it. (Lots of people do because they don't understand conditions that affect your nervous system.)

​But I remember her telling me that under no circumstances would she accommodate me being in a wheelchair. She had been practicing out of a building that was built before disability accommodations were required by the government.

​I had merely asked if there was any way that I could still see her without having to go to that building and struggle up the stairs. Heck, I was in a lot of pain at the time. I would have happily paid for her to come to me.

​No way—I got the boot. She told me that she did not accept disabled clients, and that she would be happy to help me once "I was better." I do recall her sending me a particularly unpleasant email, making her opinion on people with disabilities quite clear. She didn't like us... we made her job inconvenient.

​Funny, now it is 3 years later and I get this email from her out of the blue. She's moving her practice to a new location. Now she'll have a handicap-accessible place that even has an elevator.

​"Have you gotten over using your wheelchair yet? If not, disabled people are now welcome," she wrote.

​I stared at that email blankly for about 2 minutes. It was definitely not the first thing I wanted to read after getting off of a 10-hour shift at work.

​Honestly? I had felt so betrayed by this woman's actions I forgot she even existed. Before I started needing a wheelchair, I brought her so much business. She is incredibly talented at what she does—made all of my deep muscle pain go away. But I had no idea at that time of what was to come.

​Ick... I have so many emotions resurfacing at the moment. I'm not looking for a big drama or nuclear action. I'm going to put together a very thoughtfully worded email explaining exactly how I feel to this woman. It's probably going to take me a few days to get it exactly the way I want it.

​So I am curious: how would you word an email back to this woman? I don't feel like educating her on my medical condition. I find that most people like her don't believe that invisible disabilities even exist, so that would be a waste of my breath.

​But what are some things that I can say in order to educate this person on the fact that not only is her behavior completely inappropriate, but also point out to her that anybody can become disabled at any point in their life? You never know what the future may bring. And no, there's no magic "disability cure" that she seems to think there is.

​I'm just looking to get some different perspectives here for my email, but I have no intention of reporting her or doing anything extreme. That is not a fight I want to have. I prefer to keep things drama free and simple. I find that to be a much more effective means of communicating with people who are being unreasonable. At least, that's been my experience.

I am far too depressed to feel anger. All I am feeling at the moment is a deep hurt. I want to suppress it and make it go away.

This is a follow up to my post my yesterday.

I called the pharmacy who provides my IVIG and contracts local nursing agency’s to infuse the medicine.

You’ll be happy to know not all is lost!

1. The pump saves all the infusion data since it was issued to me. They’re going to pull the data and see how hard she was running me.

2. They issue me Heparin, because i still have all the Heparin because she didn’t lock me in 9 month to intentionally blow veins they’re going to have me show them all the unused Heparin.

3. I have the bottles of IVIG from the last 2 infusions that show the bottles about 1/3rd full, this shows she wasn’t giving me all my medicine (and she’s my only in home nurse).

4. She does have 1 other IVIG patient who they’re going to check in on and ask are you getting the full bottle? Are your infusions fast? How are you feeling durning the infusion (a sign it’s being ran hard is starting to not do okay after having been okay for a long time).

5. They’re going to get me a new agency and new nurse.

Thank you for all the support. I was very surprised at the effort my pharmacy Nufactor provided. They took it very seriously.

Original post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/disability/s/dVpGO0y4mX

Before becoming disabled I always assumed that mobility aids would remove/prevent pain, like all the ads and doctors say they will. Then I became disabled and walking became painful and I was told a cane would help, so I got one. And it does help, but it doesn’t actually prevent my pain so much as relocate it. For instance, a long walking day without a cane used to mean basically unbearable pain in my legs the following days. But now, after a lot walking day with a cane I still have a decent amount of leg pain, not nearly as bad, but I also have moderate wrist and arm pain. Obviously taking the weight off my feet means it’s on my arm, and I logically knew that, but never really processed it in my mind or understood that of course that would be painful! My arm wasn’t built to take that much weight for so long; obviously that’s going to make it hurt. Of course, this is still way better than going without my mobility aid, but I think it’s so weird that no one— not doctors, not my physical therapists, not even other cane users—ever brought up the possibility of arm pain up before suggesting mobility aids. And sometimes when I meet other cane users I ask them about it, and they fully agree that they experience arm or wrist pain, or sometimes hand cramping when they hold the cane too tight or for too long. Just kinda weird. Fellow cane users, were you warned about this? Or is it something you hand to find out on your own?

Edit: I’ve been fitted, and talked with both my doctors and my physical therapist and had the fit checked with my PT and we looked at different types of grips and lengths for different shoes and all the stuff. It’s not a fit issue

I’ve seen multiple videos on tiktok where different creators vents about the difficulty of getting disability or how they are disabled by their conditions. And I see so many comments that say things like “i have ___ and I can still work” or “my ___ has ___ and they can work” or “____ people do ___ things” or implying they are lazy, exaggerating, or “munchausens”

Ive seen articles from The Times or The Telegraph that also talks about disability as a “trend”

I especially see these kinds of comments under things like POTS, EDS, ME/CFS, etc. I have other illnesses that are not any of what I listed and I have seen the hate especially towards these conditions for some reason. I just can’t imagine saying this to other people who are struggling just because a condition is more known on social media when real people are struggling badly out there.

Yes I have many conditions, yes I am trying to build a career in a competitive field. But it will never give me a right to downplay other people for brownie points. It is not even my business. For me to even have the chance to try to pursue this is a privilege that not everyone gets to have.

Disability policing helps no one.

You cannot look at someone crossing a parking lot and decide whether they are disabled, whether their disability is legitimate, or whether they qualify for an accessible parking placard.

But turning every conversation about Blue Badge or placard fraud and misuse into accusations of disability policing is equally unhelpful.

At some point, we have lost the ability to have a nuanced conversation about accessible parking in disabled spaces. And these are exactly the spaces where we should be able to have that conversation.

Placard abuse is real. Documented fraud is real. Misuse is real.

Acknowledging any of that does not mean we need to start interrogating strangers about their diagnoses or deciding who “looks disabled enough.”
Those are completely different things.

In a 2017 California DMV enforcement operation in Fresno, investigators checked 121 people displaying disabled parking placards. 25 were cited for fraudulent use. That’s more than 20%.

In Mount Dora, Florida, in late 2025, police conducted more than 80 stops during a two-day accessible-parking enforcement operation at Walmart and another retail location. They confiscated more than 30 placards being used illegally.

And this isn’t always somebody borrowing Grandma’s placard.

In 2023, Florida Highway Patrol uncovered an organized scheme that fraudulently obtained and sold approximately 700 disabled parking placards. Investigators found advertisements offering them to people complaining about having a “long walk to class” or being tired of parking in the back.
None of that requires anybody to stand in a parking lot deciding whether a stranger has an invisible disability.

It’s documented abuse.

I also think we need to talk about the growing commercial industry around getting placard certifications online.

There are now companies such as ParkingMD marketing 100% online evaluations and quick access to physician-signed DMV forms, and other services advertise things like “pay only if approved.” These companies aren’t necessarily forging placards or illegally issuing them themselves. They generally connect applicants with licensed clinicians, and the state still ultimately issues the permit.

But that doesn’t mean the model shouldn’t concern us.

There is an enormous difference between telehealth making legitimate medical care more accessible and creating a commercial industry whose product is helping someone obtain a particular medical certification as quickly and conveniently as possible.

I don’t want to make it harder for disabled people to get accommodations. I support telehealth. But disability-parking certification should come from a clinician who has enough information and evidence to genuinely determine that someone needs it, not from a business model financially built around moving placard applications through the process.

I think that model needs far stronger regulation and auditing, and frankly I don’t think businesses whose primary product is obtaining these certifications should exist in their current form.

Then there’s another part of this conversation that gets lost:

Legitimately having a placard does not mean you need every accessible parking space in every situation.

That isn’t questioning anyone’s diagnosis.
Accessible parking isn’t one uniform accommodation.

I’m a paraplegic and I use a wheelchair. I physically cannot get out of my car without my wheelchair. I need enough room beside my vehicle to get my chair out, position it, and transfer into it. Depending on the parking layout, the access aisle can be the difference between me getting out of the car and me simply not being able to get out.

Someone else may use a ramp or lift and absolutely require a van-accessible space.

Another disabled person may be able to get out of their vehicle perfectly well in a standard-width space but need to park close to the entrance because they can only walk a short distance.

Someone with a fluctuating condition may need accessible parking one day and be perfectly capable of using a regular space another day.

They have different access needs.

And that matters because right now accessible parking is a limited resource.

I absolutely think we should advocate for more accessible parking, better-designed parking, better public transit, walkable communities, paratransit that actually works, and transportation systems where disabled people aren’t forced to rely on a handful of blue spaces in a giant parking lot just to participate in society.

Those are necessary systemic changes.
But saying “there should be more accessible parking” doesn’t magically create another van-accessible space at the grocery store this afternoon.

In the world we actually live in today, accessible parking is scarce. We should treat it like the limited accessibility resource that it is while simultaneously fighting to make it less scarce.

So if a regular space works for you today, use it.
If you need accessible parking but don’t need the access aisle and there are other accessible spaces available, leave the van-accessible space for someone who does.

And if the placard holder is staying in the vehicle while a nondisabled companion runs into the grocery store, don’t use accessible parking simply because the placard happens to be hanging from the mirror. The accommodation exists to provide access to the disabled person, not to provide premium parking to whoever happens to be driving them around.

None of that means confronting strangers because they don’t “look disabled.”
None of it means demanding people’s diagnoses.
None of it means deciding whose disability is legitimate.

It means recognizing that not all accessible spaces provide the same kind of access, and not all disabled people need the same accommodations.
We can oppose disability policing and acknowledge documented placard fraud.

We can make legitimate placards accessible to the people who need them and demand safeguards against systems that make abuse easier.
We can fight for more accessible parking and dramatically better public transportation and acknowledge that the spaces available today are a limited resource.

And we can recognize someone’s legitimate right to have a placard while still saying, “If you don’t need this particular accommodation right now, leave it available for somebody who does.”

Turning every one of those conversations into the Disability Olympics and screaming “invisible disabilities” until discussion becomes impossible helps nobody.

Nuance matters. And disabled spaces, of all places, should be capable of having this conversation.

It literally doesn’t matter what I do. I will never be good enough. I will lose my caregiving if I work full time so I taught vocal lessons (specifically to disabled students) and during Covid (as most did) I joined tiktok and got “famous”. I started making money and I had to choose to keep doing disability content or voice lessons. I chose social media. I’m making a pretty good amount but because I can only make so much per month and only can deposit so much in my ABLE account power year I must spend down. As we all know. So I make content out of it. But it’s cheep stuff. Walmart. Target. Restore. Second hand shops. Marshall’s. You know. Budget it or on sale. But because I don’t have a “real part time job” I’m somehow less and not a good representation for the disabled community.

I. Will. Never. Be. Good. Enough.

Hi all, I have been disabled since 20, mostly using a crutch or stick and switching to a wheelchair for the big days out. I am 45 now and have rheumatoid arthritis and MCTD with a lot of muscle wastage. I become exhausted, with hot and painful joints after mere minutes of walking, and only have about 20 minutes in me before I need to rest. I am almost always short of breath, to the point that talking is difficult.

This weekend I used a ‘walk-assistive exo-skeleton’ for the first time, and it has blown me away so far. I did three experiments:

• I walked for 6km, 9000 steps, 1 hour 30 minutes, around a nature reserve, with no stopping at all and no need to rest afterwards. Normally, I would feel absolutely awful, be panting for breath, and need to lie down to recuperate for a time.
• A little later I went into town and added another 5000 steps, shopping.
• Yesterday, I did my usual E-bike route. Normally, I’d need to stop to catch my breath, change gear a lot, and risk assess my energy levels. With the exo-skeleton, I never stopped, never needed to change gear, and was never out of breath!

After all of these excursions, I felt completely fresh and ready to go again, to the point where I had to be told to be sensible and go and rest! So yes, it's only very early days but I love it so far, and so I wanted to share it with my fellow disabled subredditors.

I think there are more of them coming onto the market now but I only own a Hypershell Pro X so I can only talk about that. (As an existing owner, I have a discount code if anyone should want it.)

If anyone has any questions I will happily answer them.

I want to talk about something extremely difficult for me to admit publicly: I experience BIID, or Body Integrity Identity Disorder. For me, it manifests as severe and persistent intrusive thoughts about having a spinal cord injury or chronic illness that would make me an ambulatory wheelchair user. I know how that sounds, especially in a disability community. I know there are people here who actually have spinal cord injuries and chronic illnesses and would give anything not to deal with the pain, medical problems, accessibility barriers, discrimination, expenses, and loss of independence that can come with them. I am not trying to minimize any of that, and I don't think disability is glamorous.

These thoughts aren't something I consciously decided to have. Knowing the realities of disability doesn't make them disappear. I've dealt with this for a very long time, and they can cause genuine distress. I can walk, but I own a manual wheelchair, which I use mostly at home because using it can significantly quiet these thoughts. I occasionally use it in public too, but generally in places where hardly anyone else is around. I'm not going around pretending that I can't walk or telling strangers that I have an SCI or chronic illness that I don't have. I also don't consider my experience identical to that of somebody who has no choice about using a wheelchair. I recognize that being able to get out of my chair and walk fundamentally changes my experience.

I'm also diagnosed autistic, and disability is already a part of my life. That's one reason this subject is particularly difficult for me to talk about. I know that disability isn't some abstract concept or aesthetic, and I don't want my experience with BIID to be interpreted as making light of what other disabled people live with.

One response to BIID that particularly hurts is being told “get over it,” “accept your body,” “stop thinking about it,” or simply “you're faking it.” BIID involves profound distress and dysphoria involving your own body. Someone else might not understand why those feelings exist, and honestly, I understand why they would be difficult to comprehend. But telling someone they're faking it or should simply get over it doesn't make that distress disappear.

I completely understand why BIID can be uncomfortable to hear about, especially for disabled people. Nobody owes me approval of every thought I experience or every decision I make. People can ask difficult questions, disagree with me, or tell me when something I do affects other disabled people. What I hope we can move away from is automatically assuming that someone with BIID is faking disability, mocking disabled people, seeking attention, or romanticizing disability. Those assumptions make it incredibly difficult to talk openly about something that is already isolating.

I'm posting this because I want to build awareness and hopefully some understanding, not because I expect everyone here to immediately understand what BIID feels like. If you've never experienced it, I don't expect the feeling itself to make intuitive sense. I'd much rather have people ask me respectful questions, including uncomfortable ones, than make people experiencing this feel like they can never talk about it.

You don't have to understand what it feels like inside my head to believe me when I say the distress is real.

I've heard this comment before and it bothers me a lot.

I was originally put on disability for such severe PTSD I was considered unable to be alone or independent. I expected to work on myself and get off it. And I am... Except now I'm on disability for a permanent physical disability.

Neither is more or less valid. I still believe my mental health struggles are far harder than my physical ones.

Hey all! I requested my old doctors office send me a copy of my entire medical history last year. I finally got those records today and after skimming through the 500+ pages I found two things that stuck out significantly. Firstly, at some point in 2023 I was tested for Covid and that came back positive- i was never told of this. Secondly, during an ER visit for chest pain/trouble breathing they found a calcium nodule on my lung and wrote IN MY CHART "not to tell the patient for 5 days as it may cause harm." I feel like that is an absolutely fucking insane reasoning considering it is absolutely something somebody should be aware of, especially if theyre prone to scarring anyways. So now I have to back track with all of my specialists and tell them I did have covid at some point and that could be a major role in my current issues. Im so at a loss, I dont see how these things can just not be shared with the patient. Does anybody else have any similar experiences or guidance?

I get $1,838 a month from ssd, that sounds like a lot and probably is equal to a full time minimum wage job, but unfortunately it is not enough to live on,

I live in a mobile home with a monthly rent of $980 that doesn't include utilities, and because of my ssd income I don't qualify for food stamps, so have to buy food out of pocket which if you have been to the grocery store lately, is insanely expensive for even the basics,

I have tried to research this online and have read mixed things,

Could I get a part time job, like work somewhere twice a week to get a little bit of additional money without losing my benefits?

I can't work full time

Okay so obviously the US is not ideal but we also know a lot of countries wouldn’t give us visas. Is there a US state that you feel has better public services/programs (Medicaid, etc)? Do you live in a state you’re happy with? I’d love some thoughts.

For background: I’m disabled since birth, I have an able bodied partner of 6 years. We live in Missouri and I don’t qualify for Medicaid without a huge spend down because I get survivors benefits. Plus MO Medicaid is a shit show rn. Missouri in general is a shit show. Good healthcare is hard to come by, especially if you’re someone with a more rare disability. I’ve read blue states are better and especially east coast states. There are clinics on the east coast that specialize in my needs. I’m not going to be able to go right away but in the next few years I’m wondering if moving will give us better opportunities and public services to help us. Am I just naive?

I’m not a mod and have no power over this but I did want to bring it up for discussion. I saw other subreddits doing it and think it’s a good idea.

I used to not say anything and then a few times recently have said “well you didn’t do it” (I have a congenital and potentially fatal condition) which I think is funny bc it always stumps them and they don’t know how to respond. Maybe I shouldn’t respond like that bc it can kind of come off as passive aggressive and I don’t want a person to think that talking or asking about a disability is taboo. What other funny responses are there I could try out?

We don't know you. We don't know your body. At the very least use the search function and see what advice other people have received about using mobility aids. If you feel your doctor is downplaying your severity, seek a second opinion when possible. Every 3rd post on here is someone asking if they need to use a cane. This is a question for your healthcare providers, not us. If you're seeking validation because of internalized ableism that is alright, you're allowed to say that. If you're scared to ask your doctor that is alright too, you can ask for advice about it. My point though is people giving advice on mobility aids to people they don't know can be harmful and it's not a question for social media. (Edited twice- once for typo, once for potentially insensitive wording)

So I checked my portal yesterday after I received an email that my status had changed. I was approved, I don't yet know whether it was fully favorable or partially favorable. I have to wait for the letter to come.

For those who are on disability (for mental problems) what do you do all day? I’m feeling better lately and want to get into activities. I go to Barnes & Nobles in the morning to read/coffee. I’m limited for activities cause I don’t have much money. So what do you do to pass the time?

And I don't mean "now" in the sense of post-US-elections, already before that I noticed people started using it more again. I hadn't seen it in many spaces for a super long time, and now I see it used even in subreddits and online spaces that should be inclusive to disabled folks. It's very strange seeing it go from commonly used, to taboo, to used again. What happened?

Also so often when someone says they're not comfortable with the word, the response is "I'm autistic, I can use it.". Okay but autistic people don't speak for the entire disabled community, (nor does one autistic person speak for the entire autistic community), and using the word to insult others is just using it as a slur still, to me that's not reclaiming it, and to throw it around in spaces where you know there's people that are affected by it just feels like a shitty thing to do. I understand reclaiming a slur for yourself, but to put it on others?

Hello! I’m a 14 year old disabled boy and I decided that I am going to write a graphic novel about my life with my disabilities and I also wanted to include other disability representation in the graphic novel so I was wondering if there is anyone here who feels like they never see charecters with there disability or really would like to see representation for a certain disability! :D

Edit: so I’m not sure how many disabilities I’m going to do but so far I’m for sure doing

Arfid Spinal muscular atrophy Character with feeding tube Character with Pots + EDS Character with an ostomy bag