For over 20 years, I have been dealing with a disability that requires me to either walk with a cane or use special leg braces. I moved to Utah two years ago, and since that time I have been accosted twice in a Millcreek grocery parking lot for parking in a handicapped spot. Despite having a handicapped placard for my car, one person waited for me outside my car before she told me I didn’t look disabled. I showed her my leg braces. She scoffed, waved her hand, and walked away. The second person put a note on my car that read, “Did you really need to park here?”
Disabilities are complex. They can be painful, they can be taxing, and they are not always visible to the naked eye. I may be young and appear fit, but with every step I am reminded that I need assistance walking. No one knows my disability better than me, and I do not need to hear the offensive opinion from strangers on what I should look like, or how I should present my disability.
David Wood, Salt Lake City