What Are Disability Cards?

[Image Description: "Hidden Disability" in center-aligned bold white text above a half blue and white circle with a half blue and half white figure of a person in it and "Brain Injury" is in center-aligned bold white text below the circle all on a rectangular blue card in a left white light skin toned hand. "My name is Laura. Noise, busy places, and rushing make it difficult for me to think clearly." in left-aligned black text on a rectangular white card in a right white light skin toned hand. "If I need help: - please be patient - make eye contact - speak slowly and clearly - take me to a quiet place" is in left-aligned black text under the previously described text. "Thank You!" is in left-aligned italicized black text in the bottom left corner of the card. The background of this image is black.]






What are disability cards?
Disability cards are cards that identify that a person has a disability. They can be used in any situation involving the law in order to get extra help, such as specially designed instruction (SDI) and accommodations.

What kind of situations can disability cards be used in?
The situations that disability cards can be used in are when confronted by police officers (such as when being pulled over on the road by them), when dealing with first responders, emergency medical services, Emergency Room (ER) personnels, bus drivers, taxi drivers, apartment managers, veterinarians, restaurants, and stores.

What does a disability card usually say on it?
A disability card says the name of the disability on it and describes the symptoms and what kind of help that the person with the disability may need. For example, it may explain that the disabled/differently-abled person/person with the disability may not be following their instructions due to difficulty with understanding, memory, hearing, and paying attention caused by their disability. So, if disability cards are used when encountering the police such as when being pulled over on the road, the disability card tells the police officers that the person that the person with the disability/disabled/differently-abled person may need a little extra help and may not be disobeying their orders on purpose; they may be doing it due to difficulty with understanding their instructions as part of their disability.

How to use a disability card:
    Disabled people/people with disabilities can use their disability cards when dealing with veterinarians if they have a service animal.

    If you have a disability card, here is how to use it when pulled over on the road by police:
  1. Follow all of their instructions to the best of your ability in order to obey hierarchy of power (also known as "pecking order") and when asked to see your ID.
  2. Keep your hands where they told you to keep them in the first place and tell them where your ID is located unless they tell you to take it out for them.
  3. Right after you tell the police officer where your ID is located or take it out for them, say that you have a disability card and show it to them. This helps the police officers to know that they need to accommodate you to help you through this situation. Also, if you tell the police that you have a disability card, that tells them that you have a disability, which helps them to know that you may not be following their instructions or disobeying them on purpose. It is because maybe due to your disability, you could be innocently misunderstanding their instructions or depending on your disability, you may need some SDIs and accommodations. For example:
  • A person with an Intellectual Disability (ID) or Developmental Disability (DD) may not be following instructions due to innocently misunderstanding caused by their disability. Since people with disabilities that affect their learning are such literal thinkers, they will need SDIs that are very specific.
  • If they are autistic/on the autism spectrum/have Autism or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), not only will they need SDIs, but they may have difficulty responding to the police officers due to their struggles with communication skills. They will also need plenty of personal space due to their disability causing them to be sensitive to people invading their personal space even if the person does not invade it intentionally. Police officers should also keep in mind that people on the autism spectrum/autistics/people with Autism or ASD may be sensitive touch if an arrest needs to be made or experience sensory overload from the sound and brightness of cop car lights used to attract attention.
  • People with mental health conditions may be afraid of the sound and brightness of cop cars and easily intimidated by police officers. In this case, it is important for police officers to remain as calm and respectful as possible while being firm as one of their essential job responsibilities.
  • Individuals with physical disabilities/physically disabled individuals and medical health conditions that affect their physical activity may need modified instructions too. For example, a physically disabled person/person with a physical disability or a learning difference may have difficulty following or be unable to follow physical actions commanded by the police.
  • The above may equally apply to people with medical health conditions that affect their physical activity, such as a limb difference. For example, if they have only one arm or monoplegia, they obviously cannot put both hands on their head; so, when police instruct them to do this, the individual with this disability should only put one hand on their head and will need to immediately explain, "I can only put one hand on my head because I have only one hand/monoplegia" before the police can even question them as to why they put only one hand on their head. Explaining things like this to police officers even if the disability is visible can help the police to be understanding and fair. A physically disabled person/person with a physical disability who uses a walker, wheelchair, or car with Assistive Technology (AT) should be given a lot of patience by police officers. This is because they might take longer to move in order to follow the physical movements instructed by police. This includes little people (their disability is dwarfism) because they have smaller legs and smaller arms. They can be eligible to drive with cars with AT and due to their shorter legs and shorter arms, they might take longer to follow the physical movements instructed by police officers. So, the police officers need to give them patience too.

Who is eligible for a disability card?
Any individual with any disability except for Learning Disabilities (LD) can have a disability card. To be eligible to have one, the only thing that individuals need is a diagnosed disability except for LDs and that is it. It is does not matter how minor, moderate, mild, severe, or profound the disability is in order to be eligible for disability cards.




What are your thoughts about disability cards? Do you have a disability card or know anyone who has one? Did you know about disability cards before this blog post? Do you think that every disabled person/person with a disability should have a disability card? If you were disabled/had a disability, would you get a disability card or if you have a disability/are disabled, do you plan on getting one after learning more about them?






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                                                                  Citations

1. Thestar.com. (1 March 2015). "Hidden Disability Brain Injury My name is Laura. Noise, busy places, and rushing make it difficult for me to think clearly. If I need help: - please be patient - make eye contact - speak slowly and clearly - take me to a quiet place Thank You!." https://www.thestar.com/life/2015/03/01/hidden-disability-symbol-may-be-the-key-to-raising-brain-injury-awareness.html

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