why do people look at me funny....

[Leajess99]

I ignore stupid people. I have even had people yell at me for using handicapped parking spaces while i was getting out my wheelchair!! because I was "too young" to be disabled. Yes, I have a $5000 wheelchair which I had to pay for out of pocket (stupid insurance) because I want better parking. It's also a fashion accessory. Does it make my butt look fat?

There are lots of people who just don't get it.

My favorite with these type people are the ones that say I "conned" my doctor into giving me one or I am using someone else's. One lady verbally harassed me and my children while she was sitting in the van waiting for her family to come back (she was the disabled one) and my daughters were upset. I finally turned to her and told her she needed to shut up because she did not know mine or anyone else's medical situation.

OP, I am sorry that someone felt the need to yell that out to you. Some people just have no clue what it is like to have a disABILITY. I have dealt with it at different parks (even one where I had waited the same amount of time they did to ride the ride but was able to wait elsewhere rather than standing for that whole time) but not at Disney (yet). Too many people think they are above those with special needs and sadly, until they are in our situations they may never really understand that many of us would willingly trade places and wait in line just to be out of pain or able to walk or cancer free, etc.

 

[ILuvMulan]

All the years i have been to Disney using a GAC and only the last visit (Oct 2010) i felt like people were staring at me and even some guests shouted at me....


i generally need help i have a prosthetic leg and find it difficult to stand for a long period of time or walk a long distance. one pirticular day we were at AK going on Killimunjaro Safari and they ask you to go down the fast pass que and then through a gate and leave the wheel chair and get on the ride with cast member assistance - as we approached the gate nobody came to open it and the cast member seemed busy and the other cast member just said push it open and go through so i got out the chair to open it for my DW, from nowehre a man shouted at the top of his lungs "special access for special people you can walk your not handicapped enough" i dont let little things bother me but that really hurt i felt horrible everytime i had to use the GAc after this...

really you think im over reactring about it over one guest?? anyone else had similar experiences?

It even comes from ones own family sometimes too. Our son was born with Arthrogryposis and at birth his legs were severaly turned and bent. My great aunt asked if we would ever take him out in public.

My son (13) has Arthrogryposis as well and had to have both feet amputated at age seven. He gets around very well daily but always ends up in his wheelchair during our Disney trips. Ash, The great thing about being 13 is that if anyone had made a comment like that to him, he would have probably taken off one of his legs and shaken it at them. LOL But my favorite line from my son regarding such comments is this "You can't cure stupid... they don't make a pill for that!!"

 

[dustysky]

People are mean, I am sorry. We dealt with this also as my disability is invisible and no wheelchair etc.

We also have a handicap tag for our car for my husband, he looks VERY healthy until he lifts his shirts and you see the scars from 9 bypass surgeries. He has trouble walking BUT you would never know it. He hides his pain and people are simply NOSY and MEAN.

We gave up on letting them make our day bad. When I am in a particularly testy mood and someone gets me upset over there stares or dirty looks I ask if they would like to walk around the store with us and hear all the boring details of the near death surgeries hubby has had to date. No one has taken me up on my offer yet.

 

[dustysky]

"You can't cure stupid... they don't make a pill for that!!"

I say they should work on it, I would be handing them out like gum

 

[Eeyore5]

My son (13) has Arthrogryposis as well and had to have both feet amputated at age seven. He gets around very well daily but always ends up in his wheelchair during our Disney trips. Ash, The great thing about being 13 is that if anyone had made a comment like that to him, he would have probably taken off one of his legs and shaken it at them. LOL But my favorite line from my son regarding such comments is this "You can't cure stupid... they don't make a pill for that!!"

That reminds me of something a friend did when we were teens. She was riding the city bus, using a wheelchair. She had pants on so the guy staring at her couldn't see her prosthetic leg. She popped it off, twisted it around 360 degrees while keeping it in her pant leg, and popped it back on. She said he nearly passed out.

 

[MeghansMommy]

or you could go with shock treatment of them and say "I'm fat because I eat rude people"

I'm so glad I wasn't drinking anything!

 

[lucigo]

I'm so sorry that a rude person ruined your trip. Please don't let ignorant people have that much power - its your vacation, and you deserve to enjoy it!

My son has an "invisible" disability. He will be 8 in May, but we used a GAC with stroller as a wheelchair this month at Disney. It was his "safe" spot and made an immense difference in our ability to enjoy the parks. All cast members were VERY nice to us, and if any guests were snide I didn't notice.

 

[ILuvMulan]

That reminds me of something a friend did when we were teens. She was riding the city bus, using a wheelchair. She had pants on so the guy staring at her couldn't see her prosthetic leg. She popped it off, twisted it around 360 degrees while keeping it in her pant leg, and popped it back on. She said he nearly passed out.

That sounds just like something my son would do! His teachers have told me stories about him turning his feet backwards and walking down the hall... I know that someday he will come in contact with some of the really rude people that are being discussed on this thread, I just hope that he can always keep his sense of humor about it. To the OP: really those people are not worth letting them ruin your vacation. Don't let them have that much power.

 

[jennine]

We run into this problem as well.

My twins, born 10 weeks premature, both have CP. DS is worse than DD, but neither of them 'appear' disabled. DD can walk, but is VERY unstable....any little brush against her and she falls. DS can only crawl.

Last trip we used our stroller as a wheelchair and got many looks when using the handicapped entrances where we carried our kids on to the rides. They were also 3 yrs old at the time, so I guess it appeared funny? We just ignored it as we go with the whole "Live an hour in my life" attitude.

We will be visiting WDW in Feb next year and will be using our new special needs stroller that we paid $2500 for and it does not look 'medical'. I am sure we will get the looks again, but who cares.....I am the one who has to get a sore back carrying my DS around on a daily basis, so why should I let someone get me down on my vacation!!

 

[wdw4rfam]

We get the same comments- our son is autistic, and we get a guest assistance card also. He looks completely normal by looking. I had someone say, " nobody looks disabled in that party to me"- since we were stopped- i said back- " if you stood in line behind us for 60 minutes- you would disagree. I think if your child had Autism for just one day, you would agree that it is a disability." Dont worry what people say, Disney is to let go and have fun. I now just block it out.

 

[C&G'sMama]

" if you stood in line behind us for 60 minutes- you would disagree.

Maybe you didn't mean that to be funny but as a mom with an Aspie, I think the same thing. Fine you wait in line with him then. A couple years back we went to the Laugh Floor, left the stroller outside (we had Stroller as wheelchari) It was awful. Him not staying still and bumping into everyone etc.
Next time we brought the stroller in. Totally different experience. We actually saw the pre-show and DP and I looked at each other and said "I don't remember this" Oh yeah, we didn't see it as we were funning interference with Dear Son.

 

[hsmamato2]

wow. that is so sad- why would anyone pay that much attention to another persons situation? why would it ruin anyones vacation to let another group go first,whether or not they 'deserve' it enough? even if you were faking,and got in before me, why would I care?
FWIW- we traveled with my mom,who used the GAC card. If anyone gave us evil glares,well,I chose not to notice. I know how many places she's been broken,shattered,and put back together. I know how hard it is for her to walk sometimes. I know that cane she uses isn't for looks. I don't care what ignorant fools think.
When someone gets ahead of us for something,no matter what,I just assume they need it more than I do at the moment.And I'm glad I'm able to wait,b/c I have no physical issues to deal with.

 

[Eeyore5]

We run into this problem as well.

My twins, born 10 weeks premature, both have CP. DS is worse than DD, but neither of them 'appear' disabled. DD can walk, but is VERY unstable....any little brush against her and she falls. DS can only crawl.

Last trip we used our stroller as a wheelchair and got many looks when using the handicapped entrances where we carried our kids on to the rides. They were also 3 yrs old at the time, so I guess it appeared funny? We just ignored it as we go with the whole "Live an hour in my life" attitude.

We will be visiting WDW in Feb next year and will be using our new special needs stroller that we paid $2500 for and it does not look 'medical'. I am sure we will get the looks again, but who cares.....I am the one who has to get a sore back carrying my DS around on a daily basis, so why should I let someone get me down on my vacation!!

Just curious - is the special needs stroller a double or do you have one for each child? I am an ECSE Teacher and am always on the look out for resources for my families.

Also I understand the not "looking" disabled. I have mild CP and to most people, I don't look disabled. Although PTs and OTs can usually spot that something isn't working right fairly quickly. I use an ECV at Disney so that I can enjoy it. Otherwise the pain from walking that much would make the trip unbearable. I had a few stares each time since I look fine and am fairly heavy. But, 95% or more of the people I interacted with were great.

 

[stargazertechie]

I spent 4 days of my last trip in a wheelchair. I managed to somehow get an 8 inch x 6 inch blister on the bottom/sides of my foot during the 1/2 marathon, and ended up in the ER after the race. I missed 2 days at the parks because I couldn't even stand up.

I finally broke down and we rented a wheelchair. I got plenty of stares because I'm a "thicker" girl (I was a collegiate rower, so I'm built like an ox). When people started whispering I whipped out my finisher's medal and told them I'd like to see them run 13.1 miles with their feet on fire and then walk around the parks the next day.

 

[brat]

congrats Star on finishingfor dealing with the ouchy feet

 

[jennine]

Just curious - is the special needs stroller a double or do you have one for each child? I am an ECSE Teacher and am always on the look out for resources for my families.

Also I understand the not "looking" disabled. I have mild CP and to most people, I don't look disabled. Although PTs and OTs can usually spot that something isn't working right fairly quickly. I use an ECV at Disney so that I can enjoy it. Otherwise the pain from walking that much would make the trip unbearable. I had a few stares each time since I look fine and am fairly heavy. But, 95% or more of the people I interacted with were great.

It is actually just a single stroller (Alvema Pixi Pushchair) for DS. I purchased a valco hitch hiker and attached it on the back for DD. She can walk, just not long distances or in a crowd(unstable on her feet!). This way she just hops up on the board behind DS's stroller and she is small enough that she fits in between the handle and the stroller with no problem. I purchased the stroller from www.especialneeds.com . They have a large assortment to choose from and helpful online and phone help.

We get a lot of looks when I pull into a handicap spot and then pull him out and put him in a stroller too.....doesn't bother me anymore though. The people that count know what we deal with on a daily basis. And all of their preschool classmates love the both of them and love to help out with whatever they need.....we live in a great community!

 

[bouncycat]

I spent 4 days of my last trip in a wheelchair. I managed to somehow get an 8 inch x 6 inch blister on the bottom/sides of my foot during the 1/2 marathon, and ended up in the ER after the race. I missed 2 days at the parks because I couldn't even stand up.

I finally broke down and we rented a wheelchair. I got plenty of stares because I'm a "thicker" girl (I was a collegiate rower, so I'm built like an ox). When people started whispering I whipped out my finisher's medal and told them I'd like to see them run 13.1 miles with their feet on fire and then walk around the parks the next day.

Congrats on finishing the race!! We have a friend that runs races down in Miami, been trying to get him up to run one at Disney, since we can't. I sure can't!! LOL It's awesome, and wish that everyone could, but that's not the way the world works. Love the remarks to the people!!

 

[anewvance]

When ds was younger he wore a helmet/shoulder/mid torso brace. On one of our trips a guy bellows (they should not be taking their kid to Disney like that). That really pissed me off!

 

[atmooney]

All the years i have been to Disney using a GAC and only the last visit (Oct 2010) i felt like people were staring at me and even some guests shouted at me....


i generally need help i have a prosthetic leg and find it difficult to stand for a long period of time or walk a long distance. one pirticular day we were at AK going on Killimunjaro Safari and they ask you to go down the fast pass que and then through a gate and leave the wheel chair and get on the ride with cast member assistance - as we approached the gate nobody came to open it and the cast member seemed busy and the other cast member just said push it open and go through so i got out the chair to open it for my DW, from nowehre a man shouted at the top of his lungs "special access for special people you can walk your not handicapped enough" i dont let little things bother me but that really hurt i felt horrible everytime i had to use the GAc after this...

really you think im over reactring about it over one guest?? anyone else had similar experiences?

I'm sorry this happened to you. We had a similiar experience at the peter pan ride. My DS has Autism and looks"perfectly normal"...a mother who saw us bypassing a HUGE line yelled that we were abusing the system. My son, ofcourse, was oblivious of the outburst..but my other children were upset. I ignored her, but was upset after for a long time. I almost felt like apologizing for my son's autism. We leave in less than a week for WDW and I WILL NEVER feel guilty or upset for anothers' blatent ignorance. I have enough to worry about.

 

[bouncycat]

You shouldn't have to apoligize for your son's disability. Other people don't know a thing, until they walk in your shoes. That always makes me mad when people think we're abusing the system, especially autistic kids, they seem normal, but as someone else has said, stand in line with me....or near me, and they'll know the truth. People like that are ignorant, and just don't want a clue. I wish I could be normal, I'm sure your son does too, but we're not. That's the fact of it. Don't apoligize, and don't stoop to their level, and most of all, DON'T let it ruin your vacation!!! It's not worth it, and I'm sure that person isn't worth it.