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Asda displays new accessible toilet sign to show that ‘not every disability is visible’

11 August 2016 11:07

Accessible toilets are something that shouldn’t cause controversy but sadly, they often do. t’s often because of the sign showing an image of someone in a wheelchair. 

While nobody bats an eyelid as the accessible loos are used for the purpose of baby-changing and for a parent to avoid taking their young child into a bathroom for the opposite sex, there are other needs for the toilet that are often ignored.

Those needs can even leave a person in need feeling humiliated and upset. This becomes a particular issue when someone has invisible disabilities

There are many conditions that class as ‘invisible disabilities’. This means while a person may seem physically able, they are fighting their own disability on the inside. Because of this, there is a need for them to use an accessible toilet. This might be for extra room and a more sanitary area to place treatment that needs to be applied or maybe, if they’re only able to travel short distances and need extra help sitting up and down, help can be offered.

There are many reasons as to why someone with an invisible disability needs to use the accessible loo – and they shouldn’t be made to feel victimised because of it. 

To stop the stares, the mutters under the breath and even the confrontation that comes with someone who looks ‘physically-abled’ using the disabled toilets, Asda has stepped up by changing their accessible toilet signs.

It was a young girl who herself suffers with inflammatory bowel disease, an invisible disability, who first spotted the sign, in an Asda in York. A picture of the sign, which reads: ‘Not every disability is visible’, was posted to Crohn’s and Colitis UK’s Facebook page, and it has so far received 9,300 likes. 

Many people have commented to express their happiness after seeing the sign. One person said: ‘Finally some recognition for those hidden disabilities, Crohn’s has been my nemesis for years yet I always feel judged for using disabled facilities. Well done Asda.’ Another added: ‘That’s a great sign. I’ve heard the grumbling public whispering loudly how I shouldn’t be using an accessible toilet. Well done Asda.’



Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2016/08/05/asda-displays-new-disabled-toilet-sign-to-show-that-not-every-disability-is-visible-6048319/#ixzz4H14d0Pwv