Drawing attention to disabilities?

[SirSupportman]

My local swimming pool has a coloured wristband system so they can limit the time people are in the water at busy periods. I took one of my mindees this weekend and they now give one colour for the disabled swimmer and another for the person accompaning them. Which I assume is to allow them longer in the water as it takes longer to get changed in the first place. I think that it is a good thing but I don't like the fact that it draws attention to other swimmers that the person is disabled / has special needs. OK, the child I had was obviously disabled (CP) but I often take children who wouldn't immediatly come across as being disabled.

I am probably fussing about nothing as perhaps people don't pay that much attention or should I ask the pool if they could reserve one of their colours for disabled people without coming across as being OTT and complaining about a system that is good for the most part?

Hmm, didn't think "aw bless" as DD1 kicked me in the eye because I tried to get her in her car seat this aternoon

I think the whole special/additional disabled/impaired thing is rearranging deckchairs, tbh. Disabled and impaired mean exactly the same thing in plain english ime - disabled has only come to have its negative connotations because it has been applied to people with disabilities, and society's attitudes to them are negative. In 15 years' time, "impaired" will have acquired the same connotations and there will be some self-righteous person telling you why you are a bigot for using such a politically incorrect term, and the right term is "negatively enhanced" or "sub-augmented" or "equipment ready" or whatever.

Re the OP - wouldn't bother me. Would be abso-fecking-lutely delighted to get a different coloured band and extra time to change, I can't imagine the amount of force that would have to be applied to our local sports centre before they would be so helpful.

Isn't it a play on 'redhead'?

Crikey, not more changes in terminology, I can't keep up. The other day I noticed that ds's class is now in the ASC dept, instead of ASD (condition/disorder) and I thought "when did that happen?". I think half the time these things are sneaked in by the sort of people who enjoy getting all offended so they can make other people feel small (and who have too much time on their hands ). Otherwise, they'd put an ad in the paper, 'oh by the way everybody, just so you know the word 'disabled' isn't acceptable any more, ok?'

Perhaps I'm being unfair though, as I do have to admit to a particular hatred for the word 'retarded'.

Sorry, swimming! I wouldn't worry about the wristband personally as I don't think people take all that much notice and as someone else said it would be useful for the poolside staff. Mind you, I'd be lucky if I could persuade ds to wear a wristband so we'd be in trouble anyway I expect.

I see it and think she must be a friend of CP-3O and R2-D2!

No, but I overheard someone calling ds a 'retard' last summer , it seems to be one of those american words that has caught on, you see it all the time in the YOU TUBE comments, usually used as an insult. I hate it.

well if any one calls dd retarded they get a slow mouthfall.
I think we should stop playing with it all, it will only lead to confusion, all this stuff about the enviroment disabling you!!
dd is disabled, even with all the ramps and equipment in the world she will still be disabled.

but she wona't be able to do it by herself.
that is the bit that confuses me.
next year dd will be taking exams but she will have a one to one helping her access it iynwim(it isn't 1 to 1 but not sure of the ratio) even though she will be able to access these things, she will still be disabled, she will still have cp which is a disability.

Thanks for the replies everyone, I suppose my line of thinking was centered around the privacy and dignity that we as carers extended to clients and saw something which could single someone out affecting that. I shouldn't read as much into things as I do.

I would want dd's disability to show if we are jumping queues- for her sake

as somebody whose disability is often invisible, she tells me that this is the really hard bit: the nasty looks and comments you get when people think you are getting special treatment for no reason at all, just jumping the queue for the sake of it

she doesn't want to be dealing with that- it's much easier for her if the ribbon speaks for her so to speak

also, as you know Riven, I think the social construct of disability is over-generalising: your dd would be enabled if society got its act together, mine would still be in pain

she finds it easier if she is allowed to call a spade a spade (remembering that it took her several years for the doctors to accept that she was in severe pain or allow her to say so); the mealy-mouthed expression "some unpleasant physical symptoms" won't really help her to deal with the child who shouts across the playground 'you're just faking it'

lol @ 'spade' in this context