Not having reasonable adjustments caused me to get an infection

My name is Jo, and I live in London. As a disabled person, I have experienced negative attitudes. This has come from strangers in public, previous employers, and even people in my life. People stare, ask questions, and offer unwarranted opinions.

In 2018 I was in a cycling accident, which caused an injury to my leg, and I developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result.

If I'd had what I needed, the infection wouldn't have happened

After the crash, I had 7 months off. When I went back to work, I found the system wasn't designed for me.

As a reasonable adjustment I required a leg stool at work, to stop my leg getting infected. I had two occupational health assessments but didn't get a leg stool for 3 months. This caused me to get an infection.

My then employer responded by saying I should not be at work if I am that prone to infection. But, if I'd had what I needed, the infection would not have happened.

It makes me angry that disabled people have to fight so hard to get what they are entitled to.

The negative attitudes I experienced at work had a big impact on my mental health. The experience affected how I felt about myself and made me feel like I had nothing to offer.

Coping with negative attitudes on top of my health became impossible

When I was worrying about work so much at my previous jobs, it set off lots of other stuff, like my fatigue. It doesn't give me space to do things like get shoes sorted from the orthotics place, and keep my leg healthy, which is really important.

When you've been through something really difficult, like going through a crash, these other things build up and make it harder to recover.

If it just happened on its own, it'd be difficult, but you could cope with it. When you're already dealing with something that is life changing, it’s made even more difficult to thrive, because of all these other little knocks on top.

It feels like your gas tank is already down to the bottom. How do you manage the stress and negative attitudes of a difficult employer on top of health stuff? It becomes impossible.

Strangers make comments when they see my leg

My leg is a different shape, because of the accident. I am okay with how my leg looks, but I hate showing it, because people ask questions.

I have experienced this a lot from taxi drivers. Before the taxi driver even asks me how I am, they’ll sometimes ask about my leg. That will be the first question on their lips. I say I don’t want to talk about it, which offends them.

I've been to a spa day with my friends before and somebody asked me in the changing rooms, "Oh, what happened to your leg?"

Wherever I go, if people see my leg, they ask me about it.  

Alternatively, when my leg is covered, I have seen people talking about me if I’ve used accessible toilets, because my disability isn’t visible.

On one occasion, my friend was behind some people in a queue. She heard them have a whole conversation about if I was disabled, and whether it was okay for me to use the disabled toilets.

At a certain point, I don't want to go over it any more. It's re-traumatising and triggers my PTSD.

People stare, ask questions and offer opinions

Everybody thinks they've got the magic bullet that's going to fix my disability. Milk with cinnamon was one suggestion, going to the gym was another.

It’s as if I haven't thought of something, or I haven't gone to the right medical professional. It’s as if, because they're not disabled, they have superior knowledge to me.

A stranger once said to me, "Oh well, you'll never wear skirts again, will you?" As if I shouldn't, as if it's offensive for me to get my leg out.

It's sometimes well-meaning people who ask questions. It’s also even sometimes people in your life that have heard of something and think it will work for you.

We need to change attitudes towards disability and accessibility in society.

If it’s not for everyone, it’s not okay

I've hit that point where I know that I won't enjoy things that don't feel like they are designed for me.

Initially I tried them because I felt angry that I could no longer engage with them. Now I have realised I don't have any fun if I do go. It's not worth it.

The idea that it's easier and cheaper to just ignore disabled people, is the problem.

The attitude of ‘as long as it's okay for most people, let's not worry about the rest’ is problematic.

Society needs to adopt the attitude of, ‘if it's not for everybody, it's not okay’. It makes so much difference.

Negative attitudes towards disabled people are still too common.

Read Scope's attitudes research to find out more.