AIBU to question sunflower lanyards for adults at airports?

GP’s have nothing to do with diagnosing autism or ADHD and the majority are generally clueless about both.

Gps dont diagnose ADHD or Autism.

7 in 10 GPs in this country currently think ADHD is over diagnosed for example, so do have a word with yourself.

@Divinedownload GPs do not have god kevel knowledge.
Theyre the last people I’d ask about autism. Starting with the fact they don’t diagnosed and have no hands on clinical knowledge of autism. Basically.ly they know as little as you.

Plus many (most?) of them are led by biases rather than facts.
See the fact women are not treated the same than men for the same symptoms - women get substandard care and are labelled anxious instead.
Or ME, which is recognised as a neuro immune disease by NICE but no GP has ever read the NICE guidelines and theyre convinced exercise and CBT will solve it - never mind both treatments are a No-No according to said guidelines.

Tom hardy has Autisim why are you so dismissive are you being dismissive or am I reading you wrong ?

Tom Hardy has said he is Autistic why are you so angry?

A disgusting post? Tom Hardy has publically announced his autism. He did so in New York. Calm down.

It is hardly a disgusting post, stating whilst no hierarchy in disability there are different impacts and severities. Nothing exactly groundbreaking that I said?

7 in 10 GPs in this country currently think ADHD is over diagnosed for example, so do have a word with yourself. It’s a perfectly valid opinion to hold. You only need to look at the percentage of people who agree with the OP in regards to this matter.

Are you Tom Harry’s doctor? Are you Tom Hardy? Those are the only two people who can decide if he has autism or not. What a disgusting post.

I wear my sunflower lanyard at airports and other places.

it carries my ‘I am autistic’ card and also my access card.

most of the time I have 1:1 support - my husband or professional carer

but occasionally if we on a plane / me going to the toilet I’m on my own it signifies I have support needs.

I have asd, diabetes , arthritis, cptsd, anxiety, toileting issues

I am under stress totally non verbal .

my lanyard helps others to understand my non responsiveness / inability to speak.

it helps others know that my unorthodox behaviour may be to stress, autism, sugar issues. (My medic alert bracelet provides more info)

it helps others to know I’m struggling and need a bit of patience and time to communicate.

it is not a ‘badge of honor’ but it is a plea to please give me time to explain myself and to process what you are saying.

before lanyards I have never travelled. My DH or carer do most of the interpreting / explaining but having the lanyard means that it signifies to others that I may need a bit more help to understand / talk.

am so grateful for it. It gives me security that when I can’t speak others will understand there is more going on and also that I medically very vulnerable.

I guess others may abuse it - but for me it is a back up and reassurance that people may understand how stressed and how much pain I am in and to help support me through a stressful travel experience.

This is exactly the sort of thing I mean. A lanyard specifically identifying visual impairment seems really useful. It gives people a clearer indication that someone may need additional understanding or assistance.

For someone with a visual impairment, I can see a real benefit in having something this specific, as people can immediately understand what they may need help with, without the person having to explain it themselves. It also leaves much less room for people to make unhelpful assumptions about what the lanyard is indicating.

I completely accept that someone can have a visual impairment alongside other invisible needs, and obviously one lanyard can’t communicate a person’s entire medical or support needs. I still think something specifically identifying visual impairment is a really positive idea. It communicates one clear, concrete thing that other people can understand and respond to appropriately, rather than leaving people to guess what a broad symbol might mean.It adds clarity without suggesting that someone’s other needs are any less valid.

For someone with a visual impairment, it could make a very specific difficulty immediately recognisable and reduce the need for them to explain themselves. To me, that’s a real advantage over a much broader symbol where people may have very different interpretations of what it represents.

https://www.partsight.org.uk/lanyard

This is used for sight impaired and severely sight impaired people.

I'm lucky that there has usually been a seat free before the bus fills up, and it hopefully serves it purpose in demonstrating that I need the seat. Only once have the seats been full but I wasn't offered a seat, I asked and the young lad looked a bit reluctant but got up without comment.

These sunflower lanyards with the slogan 'Not every disability is visible' were freely handed out in our branch of NationWide - when I asked why, I was explained that 'maybe you will find it helpful'. I was about to grab one, but my inner voice said 'don't provoke God, you bitch, or he will show you what a real disability is'. To be honest, I think people won't be wearing these lightly - too much like tempting fate (for atheists).

I'm visually impaired but I wouldn't wear a sunflower lanyard because of the connotations now. It's a shame it's become like that really because it was a good idea to start with.

You have made assumptions about my health, my circumstances and my identity when, quite frankly, you know very little about me. You also seem remarkably comfortable making sweeping, dismissive and deeply patronising comments about people with autism and ADHD, as well as people with disabilities more generally. For clarity, I do not have autism or ADHD, but I have absolutely no difficulty respecting people who do. They are people, and they deserve the same dignity, understanding and respect as anyone else. Unlike you, I do not feel the need to belittle or question somebody’s disability simply because I do not understand their circumstances. You have repeatedly spoken to people with a range of disabilities in a rude, patronising and condescending manner, and I have no desire to be spoken to in that way myself. I was not speaking to you, nor did I ask for your opinion, yet you chose to involve yourself and make personal assumptions about me. As for your suggestion that I may feel differently “as time goes on”, you are mistaken. I am perfectly capable of forming my own views and deciding how I feel about something without needing to be corrected or told what I will think in the future. I do not share your attitude towards people with disabilities, and I have no reason to believe that will change. You do not know the full extent of my disabilities, what I have experienced, or what I deal with privately, so perhaps it would be worth considering that before making judgements about other people. Please do not talk to me again. I do not wish to have any further interaction with someone who repeatedly chooses to speak about and to people with disabilities in such a disrespectful manner. I will not be responding to any further messages from you, and I do not want a response to this one. I am asking you, civilly and very clearly, to leave me alone.

I've know adults with stomas wear them at airports.. so it's known if they need to access toilets quickly and so security are aware there is an issue.

The likelihood is, it is higher than one percent.

There are a section of people in society who perform autism and adhd like it’s their whole identity, or even worse, they’ve self diagnosed from a reel on tiktok. Unfortunately for you, you may be lumped in that category now (even though you quite clearly have a complex, hidden illness yourself).

If you don’t think it’s an issue, then you may do so as time goes on.

I quite often wear a "Please offer me a seat" badge and I usually get a seat. Sometime I have to ask but typically people are nice. I tend to overexplain why I need it (I get a lot of well-meaning "But you look so healthy!"). I think "I'm disabled" should suffice but I have this weird thing of really needing to justify it even though actually my medical history is severe and complex (won't disclose: outing). I've had a couple of people tut when I'm sat in the priority seat and someone clearly pregnant/elderly gets on but it's not often. If said person asked for my seat I would actually say no and explain why. I don't think that's unreasonable. I would hope other people would give up their seats for those in need too though. There's a big hoo hah about "lanyard abuse" but these badges have been available for years. I've openly teased people who are so furious about said abuse, but I wonder if it's because there's two views opposing. I'm thinking of mine (and the rest of the disabled community/their family/carers) lived experience. If something can help someone do something easier - even if a tiny minority (say 1%, I don't think figures exist) flout the rules - then I think that's great. The notion people are "cheating" etc seems overstated and creating an unecessary hindrance on the disabled community. We already have a lot of unseen difficulties! Also I also found remarks like "performative invisible illnesses" grotesque.

do people give you a seat on the bus with a lanyard or does it just help you feel better asking. In my experience a massive pregnancy belly wasn’t enough to get a seat and a lanyard could be for a whole range of reasons and doesn’t necessarily mean the person can’t stand. Just interested out of both curiosity and learning whether i should be offering up a seat in this situation, not criticizing.

My daughter uses a lanyard at airports and in busy public places, not to indicate that she needs help all the time - because she doesn't. However, in such a super stressful environment she might start to tic, she might need a few more seconds to put away things she has bought, she will put things down and leave them there, or she might get anxious in a queue and need to sit down... she is certainly more likely to not look where she is going and attempt to walk through people, with a desire to get the whole awful airport thing done or get out the way!

I find that it works well as a signal to others to allow her the time, the space and understanding. It also means people tend to move ever so slightly out of her way, rather than expect her to do the moving.

Beyond this, I don't feel we get special treatment. There is no special boarding for us. I do buy fast track security as it's not much money for peace of mind. We do make a plan, stay out of the way of people as much as possible and do a lot of breathing!

I find the lanyards very useful and I am sure that all the people who haven't been tripped over or elbowed in the face by an errant tic have too!

What a privilege to be able to declare this and to have the audacity as well.

OP, this sunflower band is not to inconvenience you, and anyone can become disabled. Even you. Educate yourself rather than be so high and mighty.

I would support anything that makes the life of your blind daughter easier and helps her lead a full life. May she travel wherever she wants to!

Late to the party, I know, but it may be helpful to know that the official Sunflower website lists almost a thousand disabilities that make people eligible for a lanyard, so that may account for the supposed increased number of people seen wearing one.

I have 10 of the chronic conditions on the list but the majority are ones that don't require others to make allowances for me so they're not the reason I have a lanyard. I only use mine while travelling by bus, as I can't stand for long so need a seat on a busy bus. Also can't keep my knee bent for very long so require a priority seat for the legroom. But I look young and fit so I use the lanyard for its intended purpose, but only on days when I'm having a flare-up. Some days I can power-walk 10K, other days I'm hobbling round the house on two sticks.

A lot of the conditions on the website are temporary ones and it could be that people have obtained them for a short time only, and won't use them once they're no longer needed. Others of course, will keep using them. But that's human beings for you. Overall, I don't they they detract from genuine users, apart form the obvious cases like the language barrier mentioned above.

Interesting that you’ve gone straight from tone policing to assuming you know my political affiliations? Goodness, what a boring woman you are. If that’s how you approach disagreement generally, I can see why conversation with you would become very tedious, very quickly 🥱.

That's fine because I don't go to Reform meet-ups x