Sunflower lanyard mis-use.

[Userno36372846]

I know this has probably been said to death. But I want to vent.

I would like to begin with that Ds 11 has a hidden disability. He has worn a sunflower lanyard for the original purpose of showing you may need additional support in shops/airport etc! I feel they are now useless.

They had a purpose way before the pandemic but sadly I feel like the true meaning has been lost and everyone just thinks it's mask exemption, yet many who have a sunflower lanyard can wear a mask but are questioned why they wear a mask, if they have a lanyard 🤯

So much so, Ds hasn't really worn his at all recently. I sadly feel the true meaning is loss which is quite sad as around way longer than pandemic anyway.

Today we bumped into mil whilst out shopping, we are pretty close to her and know she does not have a hidden disability or she's keeping some secrets from us - She had a sunflower lanyard on - just because she doesn't want to wear a mask it seems.

1. Masks aren't event mandatory. Even if you are exempt you don't need to prove it.

1. She does not have a hidden disability. She does not have any illness or condition (unless she's kept it very secret) that stops her from wearing a mask. We've been out with her lots in the last year or two and she's always worn a mask. So why the lanyard now when it's not mandatory?

1. I have been tried to advocate the true meaning of the lanyard on my Facebook, which she would have seen. Not trying to act like a know it all. But I feel they no longer serve a purpose for the most vulnerable in society.

Tbh, I'm livid. This is not hate against anyone wearing one. I don't know why others wear them, but mil has ticked me off today!

I'm just sad that anyone can just pick a lanyard up and wear it.

I believe there should be something new for people with true disabilities!

I've spoken to dp and he's just shrugged me off. I wasn't even wearing a mask today, I usually do but have ran you but you don't have to wear one so don't have to prove anything anymore. No one bats an eyelid if you don't wear one!!

I'm just annoyed. Not sure what the point of this post is.

She's a totally happy healthy woman wearing a stupid lanyard for no reason.

@duvetdayforeveryone

Thank you for starting this thread. I completely agree with you!!!! The lanyards should have never been used as a mask exception tool!

Yet more proof no one cares about people with hidden disabilities :(

The whole issue of being exempt from wearing a mask with no proof made a farce of wearing them, I could have not worn one and claimed an exemption which I didn't have to prove so what was the point in masks?

I have two neurodiverse DCs. They both wear masks. We mainly used the lanyards in airports, DS1 has ADHD and DS2 has ASD so their behaviour can be unpredictable and DS2 especially needs a bit more time to process situations.
On our last family holiday pre pandemic, they were hugely useful in the airport. We even got a separate space to sit in pre boarding. I really hope the staff are as supportive this year.

Surely there can’t be that many people who can’t wear a mask though? I live in Australia and until Friday we had a mask mandate and I don’t recall seeing a single person not masked up.
Anyway, now that you also don’t have to wear masks over there presumably the lanyard will go back to its original meaning (which I think is a great idea, we don’t have anything like that here)

I always thought that a lanyard which could be downloaded from the internet was a pretty pointless excercise.

@verybadhairdoo

I've recently got a sunflower lanyard and card. The card clearly states the disability and when wearing it NOBODY has made ANY accommodations. Quite useless really.

Agree!

I have worn a mask and a lanyard since the start of the pandemic. I didn't own a lanyard before because my not-obvious disability is being partially deaf (I do wear hearing aids but generally people don't notice/aren't looking).

People wearing masks obviously affected my ability to hear what people are saying. So I got a proper sunflower lanyard with a card that says I have a hearing loss. No-one has ever questioned why I have a lanyard and a mask. Also, no-one has ever looked at my card and adjusted their behaviour accordingly. I always have to explain that I can't hear and ask them to remove their mask.

I hope what a pp said above happens, and that people shove them in a drawer and forget about them, so people who do need them get done benefit again. When masks are not required at all, I shall put mine away until such time as my hearing has deteriorated so much I can't hear at all. I'm hoping that won't be for another ten years (I'm 40).

YNBU

I got myself a sunflower lanyard before the pandemic. I picked it up from Gatwick Airport and had taken along my autism diagnosis letter because I thought that I'd have to prove that I was entitled to it. I was really surprise that I didn't have to show anything to get one.

At the time, it seemed too easy. The way they've been used since the pandemic has confirmed what I thought then.

One of my children has a sunflower lanyard as they have hidden disability. The only reason they really used it the past couple of years was due to masks. My child is a teenager and whilst they need help they they stuck out too much with one. When masks were introduced, it just wasn't possible for them to wear one so they used the lanyard.

Does that make them one of the people who abused the system? No, of course it doesn't. The system however introduced something which meant many more people employed the use of the lanyard as they felt they had to. Yes, there will be people who bought them when they shouldn't but the vast majority I know/have met who had a lanyard had a very real reason for needing one

I was in New York recently. Literally everyone wore masks in shops and restaurants - no exceptions. It seems as though less people are excempt in USA than here. Very interesting.

DD1 used the lanyard in 2018 at the airport but apart from that we don't use one for her. Someone is always with her and it becomes pretty obvious that she has ASD/LDs whenever she speaks/rocks, etc.

My experience is that if people are going to care enough to be thoughtful, they will regardless of a lanyard. If people aren't going to care, they won't regardless of a lanyard.

I am bothered because the true meaning has been lost and they are effectively useless. People just think my son wears one to be exempt from masks, he wears it to signify he might need extra support!

True meanings change over time. I had no idea what a sunflower lanyard meant until the pandemic, and I suspect the average person had no idea either.

What sort of extra support does he need? How did a lanyard convey this? Did people actually see the lanyard and help before the pandemic? Lanyards in all designs and colours are the norm these days.

It’s like Radar keys, anyone can purchase one and they may not understand the original meaning. Eg someone with continence issues might buy a radar key from Amazon rather than ask their doctor for one.

What sort of extra support does he need? How did a lanyard convey this? Did people actually see the lanyard and help before the pandemic?

The type of support that people need varies person to person but by wearing a lanyard, many services recognised that this person may needs some extra help. Staff may ask if any assistance is required, they may offer a quiet place to wait or an alternative queue. If the person seeks out a member of staff, that staff member will be more aware that the person may need more time to explain what they need or may provide more help than they would for another person.

For example: At an airport, a disabled person asks a member of staff where a particular check-in desk is. The member of staff might offer to walk them there, rather than just give them directions.

In a shop, a child having a meltdown is often seen as a child behaving badly. If the child or adult has a lanyard then it's more likely that a member of staff will offer assistance, maybe offer somewhere quiet or maybe open a till for them.

The average person didn't need to understand what they were for. Many places trained their staff to recognise them and they made a big difference to many disabled people.

Whilst they may have had a degree of misuse I think the pandemic has made many more people aware of them and what they are really for. Before the pandemic I wasn't really aware of them and their meaning as rarely came across them.

@NoodleNuts

I didn't even know what a sunflower lanyard was before the pandemic so not too sure how much use they are anyway. If I saw one pre-2020, I would just think that someone had a nice flowery lanyard.

Oh whoops sorry, you didn't know what it was so clearly there is no point... well you still don't know what is for, because it wasn't for mask exemption! The point being that shop workers, airport security, entertainment venues, so many public places had staff who did know what they were for and now no one bothers to offer assistance because they all think that they are for mask exemptions and not to signal the person might need help.

@Hellocatshome

Are you having a laugh? hmm aren't you fortunate you don't have a clue what you're on about. Count those blessings man.

Erm no I'm not having a laugh and I do have additional needs and was taught from a young age to ask for help if I need it, if I had a child with additional needs I would teach them to do the same. I'm not quite sure eat your problem is

So you can ask can you... well done.. autism is a communication disability... go and work out how easy it is to ask for help because you are mute, or having meltdown, social anxiety, tic, stutter, Tourette's... all of which other than the stutter my sons have.

Honestly some of the replies on this thread show a real lack of empathy... ironically!