Nothing wrong with asking -- no worries! Now you know. As pp have said, if you have any issues or difficulties at WDW, don't hesitate to ask a CM for assistance. CMs will be glad to help you if you let them know what it is that you need.I just thought maybe we could introduce the the sunflower land yard to help make a difference to Disney guests who happened to have disabilites. Sorry for asking. My bad.
Coincidentally, I just saw a message from a colleague who has started a website a year ago to inform people about 'flying with autism', and he used the sunflower keycord to draw attention to it. He worked with several big companies, like the national airline & airport, but also supermarkets to inform them about the keycord and what it means.
It originates in the UK, and my colleague brought it to the Netherlands.
If you would like to bring this symbol to the US, I would suggest contact charities or organizations that work with people with hidden disabilities and ask what they think of this and how this could help you. Maybe you, or the charities & organizations, can spread the word and talk to companies like airlines & Disney to get it recognized in the US as well.
I am not an expert, but as I understand my colleague's website it is for all hidden disabilities. It can also be PTSD or being deaf.The US already uses the colored puzzle-pieces pattern for autism awareness. Adding another pattern would be redundant, IMO. Also, is the sunflower pattern for all hidden disabilities or just autism?
One way to make it easier to have something recognizable for people working at the airport, at customs etc.
Wherever you work, the worst you can do in any business is make assumptions on what your customer needs. With all the experience in the world, you can still guess wrong.As someone who has worked in hospitality in the past, my issue with the lanyard is that if it's for all hidden disabilities, it doesn't really give me any guidance on what, if any, additional assistance a guest might need. A deaf guest will have different needs from an autistic guest, who will have different needs than a PTSD one and so on (even guests with the same disablity may handle it in different ways). Even if a guest has a visible disability, I can't assume what all their needs may be. For example, they may need to use elevators, but don't need a handicapped accessible room.
I hate to put the onus on the guests to convey their needs, but with such a diversity of needs out there, it's presumptuous to guess what the needs may be.
Wherever you work, the worst you can do in any business is make assumptions on what your customer needs. With all the experience in the world, you can still guess wrong.
When I used to work at a call centre, our trainer taught us: Never assume because then you make an as* out of u and me ;-)
I think the only thing you have to be is aware that this person MIGHT need extra attention. Whatever the symbol is, it doesn't mean that you must instantly know how to handle in each situation. I don't think people who use this keycord expect that. Even if it was just for autism, each person will react differently in each situation. There isn't a one size fits all with any disability.
I would suggest when you see this, or any other symbol, is just to ask if there is anything you can do to help. Whatever the answer is, you know what this person would need for their service.
Orlando International Airport announced today on their Facebook page that their staff is now trained to recognize the sunflower lanyard. https://orlandoairports.net/site/uploads/Hidden_Disabilities_Flyer.pdf