Only last month I wrote and posted the below on twitter...
Today on my way home from work I found myself having to justify again why I have a disabled travel card. 5pm train as you can imagine was full and as the ticket inspector comes round, the person sat next to me says "do you not have to pay with that?" I firstly was shocked someone spoke on the train commute home but after I got over that shock the conversation went something like this ... "no not at this time", "how did you get one?", "I get it because I've got epilepsy", "why does that make you allowed one?", "because I can't drive", "oh right **30 second pause** do you froth at the mouth when you have a fit?" after I got over the element of shock of the question I replied with "I don't think that's my main concern" and put in my headphones.
Without being rude, no one questions someone's age when they have an elderly travel card with their picture on it. So why should I have to justify why I have mine? I'm not playing the system I have this card to try and give me some independence. I will quite openly say I have epilepsy but I don't really want to have to say it in front of a full train carriage to justify why I have a travel card...why does it matter? Then the comment of do you froth at the mouth? Just because that's the main thing shown on TV, I imagine anyone who's had a seizure/has epilepsy can say that's their least concern. But that's the perception some people have of epilepsy ... frothing and shaking!
I understand people are sometimes just inquisitive but please just have a think of what you are saying and could it have a negative impact on someone else. I then spent the whole train journey home embarrassed as everyone around had heard the conversation and makes you feel as though you are being judged. Then that one conversation will make me dread other journeys in case it happens again. Although I have started to become resilient to some comments (mainly from a lack of understanding) ones like these still knock my confidence. So please don't make someone have to justify themselves, especially in front of others, as you don't know what it does to them on the inside.
Without being rude, no one questions someone's age when they have an elderly travel card with their picture on it. So why should I have to justify why I have mine? I'm not playing the system I have this card to try and give me some independence. I will quite openly say I have epilepsy but I don't really want to have to say it in front of a full train carriage to justify why I have a travel card...why does it matter? Then the comment of do you froth at the mouth? Just because that's the main thing shown on TV, I imagine anyone who's had a seizure/has epilepsy can say that's their least concern. But that's the perception some people have of epilepsy ... frothing and shaking!
I understand people are sometimes just inquisitive but please just have a think of what you are saying and could it have a negative impact on someone else. I then spent the whole train journey home embarrassed as everyone around had heard the conversation and makes you feel as though you are being judged. Then that one conversation will make me dread other journeys in case it happens again. Although I have started to become resilient to some comments (mainly from a lack of understanding) ones like these still knock my confidence. So please don't make someone have to justify themselves, especially in front of others, as you don't know what it does to them on the inside.