Valerie supports ‘Any Disability’ sign

I attended an event in Parliament on Tuesday 23 July 2019 to show my support for a newly launched symbol designed to represent a range of visible and invisible disabilities.

This newly launched symbol has been designed to be easily recognisable and represents a range of both visible and invisible disabilities. It has been designed by Lucy Richards, in partnership with the Scottish charity the Life Changes Trust.

One of the catalysts for the creation of this sign was the horrendous abuse a young constituent received whilst queuing for a disabled toilet. Grace Warnock, who has Crohn’s disease, was abused because her condition, like many others’, is not visible.

This is sadly a common occurrence:

• Crohn’s and Colitis UK have recently discovered that more than 9 out of 10 people would challenge someone they perceived to have no clearly defined disability for using a disabled toilet.
• Fish Insurance found that 39 percent of people said someone who displayed a valid Blue Badge but did not appear to have difficulty walking should not be entitled to park in a disabled parking bay.
• They also noted that a further 18 percent thought even blue badge-holders who displayed some difficulty walking, such as those with a prosthetic limb, should not be allowed to use disabled facilities.

Grace is now the ambassador of a new campaign to promote the ‘Any Disability’ symbol which has been designed with the aim of being recognised by the British Standards Institution as the generally accepted sign for accessible facilities, including toilets, parking areas and assistance points.

Inclusive signage sends a powerful message that not all disabilities are visible.