AIBU to question sunflower lanyards for adults at airports?

Do people on here using the lanyards or with family members using them do you find they work? Is it better than before the lanyards?

Are they recognised in many countries? I would think that in the airport you have the issue of lots of people from other countries who don’t understand the concept or who actually could benefit from one but don’t have it and get treated differently as a result as people assume that they don’t have any hidden disabilities given lack of lanyards.

It must have been at least 24 hours since we had a thread bitching about people with ND or hidden disabilities.

It's like a timer goes off when there hasn't been one and POP, one appears 🙄

My DD who is a teen and blind didn’t have to manage before as she only lost her sight and was officially registered severely sight impaired/blind when she was 11. As a blind person, she retains a strong visual memory as she had 11 years of experiencing the world around her. She understands the concept of ‘blue ‘ or the concept of ‘rainbows’. She is more fortunate than very many blind people. Blindness is incredibly low in incidence in children and young people, it’s more of an older person’s issue, think macular degeneration etc. My teen’s brain works about five billion per cent harder than yours or mine as she is trying to retrieve memories from her memory bank to categorise and make sense of things. As a highly vulnerable person, her nervous system is always on high alert, checking out the people walking behind her: are they going to mug her or worse? Not many people respect her long cane (white stick to the uninitiated), especially when it comes to public transport.

How do you 'know' that any given person is abusing it? Nobody's going to see my hearing aid unless they're standing right by me, my hair is tied back and they're paying attention. If you think 'Oh, she's just another piss taker' because you cannot see that I have absolutely no idea what just came out over the tannoy or didn't respond to you as you said 'excuse me' from behind because there's so much surrounding noise and either shove past, call me names or tell others you know for a fact that they're abused by attentionseekers because you saw a woman who couldn't be arsed to get out of your way when you were in a hurry and ignored you when you politely said 'excuse me', that's ableism in action.

Exactly, and it not their business anyway.
Too many people see disabled people get a "perk", and get mad and think it unfair... when it is disabled people getting assistance to help bring them to the same level as the non-disabled.

How do you know they're being abused, from a snapshot of someone you don't know in an airport?

I think they're a great idea for all hidden disabilities, and I'd assume that those wearing them are doing so for a reason and are just looking for a little more unserstanding without having to constantly try to explain themselves.

Given the outcry about ride access passes though, I'm not surprised that sunflower lanyards are the next target for disablist nonsense.

As far as i understand if you have a disability you can request assistance and will state how you need assisting. And this may include wearing a lanyard. You can also wear a lanyard to alert staff you have a hidden disability but unless you have requested assistance you may not be able to skip queues etc

and how would I do that?

I could see having to have a doctors letter or something but I don’t see why I should have to tell some random member of the public just because they decided I wasn’t entitled to it. And people still would. Look at blue badges. I’ve been challenged over whether or not I need a blue badge before.

Someone wearing a sunflower lanyard does not affect other people at all though.

This.

why don’t people just think “oh they have a hidden disability”? I don’t understand. Genuinely don’t get it.

Goodness, I think your comment is lacking in empathy and understanding. Like, we should all be bored because someone keeps bringing up their violent rape? How many times is the OP permitted to mention it? Also, I’m sure that I have written that my teen is blind more than once. Is that boring for you to read also?

so you would want the PP to prove she was raped to get a lanyard?

Should being the key word. People should not do a lot of things in society…. Doesn’t mean they actually don’t do the opposite.

I would have no problem if they were officially available.

I was given mine at an airport (work trip, not a holiday) as a result of melting down in the security queue.

I just don’t see how other people having one takes anything away from me.

Obviously I know why people (genuine people with needs) are wearing them, but yeah, thank you for that knowledge. Shocked 😮.

It because the the general public should not be trying to judge what is a "genuine" disability or not.

I don’t even understand what you’re saying. Are you trying to teach me about hidden disabilities? Lol Fuckinghell mumsnet has reached a new low. Of course there are hidden disabilities…… Jesus wept. That’s not the actual point I was trying to make. I’m not even saying I have the answers. Maybe not being able to buy them off Amazon for a fiver would be a good start. Some sort of system to only give them to people with genuine hidden needs.

If I see a lanyard, I think "oh, they have hidden disabilities", and that is literally what the lanyard is for.
It is nothing to do with getting special treatment. It even says on the website that it also to do with understanding.
I know a lot of people who wear them, and it is to do with them needing understanding or patience. I have one myself for the same reasons.
I hope you find it useful. If people don't understand the reason for it, then that is on them.

He lanyards serve a valuable purpose and are much needed when a small proportion of people have them. But it too many people have them it starts to become impractical and those that really need the support end up losing out as a result

How people come across on mumsnet is neither here, nor there. For some BIZARRE reason, it’s ableist to suggest that the abuse of lanyards won’t help individuals with genuine needs.

Wild how people are struggling with that.

I’m not misunderstanding at all.

no one knows to look at me.

so how would they know if I need the lanyard or not?

I agree no hierarchy but some people are more in need of help/assistance than someone else. For one person the assistance/special treatment makes it easier for them and in an ideal world they get it but for someone else it means not being able to go. And that second one just get prioritisation in terms of the assistance

Someone wearing a sunflower lanyard has no control as to how people judge them... but the people doing the judging do. They can control how they react to someone with a lanyard, I highly suggest they do so they don't come across as a judgemental twat on MN.
Because you are coming across as the opposite... people can't help but judge if they see a lanyard etc.

I think you’ve mentioned four times now, possibly more about your violent rape.

We got it the first time. Whilst horrific for you, and I truly mean that, you’re still misunderstanding certain points that have been raised on this thread.

I said there’s going to be potential for less kindness and understanding from the general public if the abuse of this lanyard increases, which I think it will do. By abuse, I mean people wearing these lanyards when they don’t need them. Why you’ve taken that as a personal, ableist attack is beyond me. It’s not my fault I can see human nature for what it is…. And I can tell you now it isn’t sunflowers
and rainbows…unfortunately!