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‘Benefits of being disabled’ is probably a confusing statement to those of you who do not have a disability, but thankfully there are some positives of being dealt a not-so-great card in life, and for myself especially it’s the reason my life can function so smoothly, and keep me driven to have as normal a life as possible!
Don’t get me wrong there are some days you want to shout in frustration, stuck in your own home due to lack of confidence to leave your front door or in some cases a person’s pain can be so severe that it can physically debilitate them. Fortunately, though we’re here to talk about the good stuff, so I may as well get cracking 😎
Benefits Of Being Disabled in England:
Support from the NHS
Having a lifelong disability means that you probably have several appointments a year, if not a month, and the Doctors just want to do the best for their patients. When I was younger I had weekly hydrotherapy sessions, alongside being fully measured for my own wheelchair: these two support systems alone made my disease more bearable to manage but also gave me the independence to get to and from classes quickly and spend some time socialising with friends without the need of my asking for as much help from family.
Local support from your council
When I first lost the last of my useful vision, I contacted my local council and referred myself to Adult Social Services. I filled out a few forms over the phone, and it wasn’t long until I was contacted by a Rehabilitation Officer who gave me long cane training, and taught me how to safely plan and execute my routes to places such as the local shops, doctors surgery and train station. I was also given a few utensils to aid me with cooking safely and effectively. Without this service, I would still be housebound and waiting on friends and family to get me from A to B.
Free bus travel
This is one of my favourite perks; buses are stupidly expensive and for someone like myself who cannot drive and has to rely on public transport, it’s a cost I wouldn’t be able to afford on my income for how frequently I travel. There is a second perk to the bus pass and that is, now that I am legally blind I have a little C in the top corner of the bus pass enabling a second person to travel with me for free. Being blind and moving to a new area, or attending a new destination I need the support of a sighted guide for the first few times on these routes so I then can feel confident to travel alone, It’s a fantastic service offered by most councils but check if you’re entitled to it first, as not all councils have this.
Reduced prices on train travel
Disabled Persons Railcard
Railcards are bought and distributed by National Rail. You can pay for 1,2 or 3 years upfront and get a 1/3 off future train travel. National Rail has several railcards that do this but I have a Disabled Adult Railcard.
Discounts on Oyster pay as you go in London
If you are already a disabled Persons Railcard holder; you can register your Railcard discount onto your Oyster card to get 1/3 off Oyster pay-as-you-go single fares and daily caps on National Rail, London Underground and Docklands Light Railway services.
How to do it:
Railcard discounts can be registered on an Oyster card at any London Underground or London Overground station, as well as any National Rail station ticket office that issues Oyster cards.
As a special concession, a Disabled Persons Railcard holder travelling on Oyster pay as-you-go can get 1/3 off an Off-Peak Day Travelcard Zones 1-6 (including stations in London Zones 7-9 if required) for one adult travelling with them.
CVI Card
Another great service used on UK national rail is the CVI card, which you show to the ticket office when you purchase your ticket and you and your guide can get half-price rail travel if you return within the same day. In order to be entitled to this you have to be registered as Visually Impaired (VI) by your local eye hospital, and your local council should have a copy of the Certificate of Visual Impairment (CVI). You cannot get a discount if you are travelling on your own. This discount applies to adult fares only. Ticket type Discount on adult fare
- First Class / Standard Anytime Singles or Returns 34% off
- First Class / Standard Anytime Day Single
- First Class / Standard Anytime Day Return
34% off 50% off
Blue badge holders
There’s no paying for parking when you have a blue badge, and with them being conveniently placed at the front of the store, you don’t have to walk far. The disabled bays are deliberately larger to accommodate passengers with disabilities, specifically wheelchair users, more manoeuvrable distance to retrieve the wheelchair. People have deliberately stopped and started to “Check” if I was disabled. It’s extremely gratifying to see them watch me get into my wheelchair and scuttle off hastily when they realise that yes, I’m actually disabled!
Blue Badge Holder Exemptions from Bridges and Toll Charges
As a blue badge holder, there are certain toll roads and bridges you can access for free or a very minimal fee. Certain toll bridges such as Severn Crossing will let you through free of charge and others such as the M6 requires you to have a road tax exemption badge. More information and details on blue badge exemptions on the roads and bridges can be found here.
Carer / Companion Tickets
This is essentially a Buy one get one free service, people who are registered disabled are entitled to take a companion to places for free, such as; the Theatre, Concerts and theme parks. The disabled person pays the full price of one ticket and the companion/ carer goes free. I think this is an excellent service.
Being blind and going to unfamiliar environments can be quite stressful and even disorientating, yes Ida is a hard-working guide dog but we learn through repetition and extensive root training. having a companion assist me, free of charge, (usually Grant). This means it takes the stress of me trying to orientate myself in loud, busy and usually hectic environments Although I haven’t been to a festival or concert in what feels like forever, I will be writing about my thoughts and experiences on attending festivals and concerts as a disabled person, so don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter to read future blog posts!
No P.E.
When I was in school, and confined to my wheelchair it was physically and emotionally distressing trying to join in with P.E. Being disabled was a one-way ticket to freedom: bye-bye winter mornings running on the icy ground! I was able to sit inside in the lovely warmth and either get on with homework or my favourite, read a book 🙂
Queue jumping
This is another one of my favourite perks, going to a theme park, the Theatre or the Airport allows me access to queue jumping. Wheelchair access is available at all theme parks and most theatres, this access is usually at the back of the ride, or establishment, meaning you enter a different way to the crowd and are thus able to queue jump. My personal favourite queue jumping time is at the airport, luckily I am no longer in need of my wheelchair but as I’m blind I ask for assistance to get through the airport, by having this I’m then able to arrive later than passengers waiting to check in, get automatically checked in and get put through security swiftly, therefore no waiting around! This is easily one of Grant’s Favorite perks, who said dating a blind girl isn’t fun? I will never forget the joy that Grant Exuded the first time we ever did this: he laughed heartily at the annoyed faces of some of the passengers as we were taken straight to the front desk by staff and trotted off merrily after we had checked our bags in.
No standing on buses
It’s rush hour and most people are standing face to face trying not to sniff the other person’s smelly armpits or accidentally kiss them on the face when the bus comes to an abrupt stop. Unless the bus is rammed with other disabled people you are sure to get a seat without even having to ask.
Meeting new people
I have met so many wonderful, kind and interesting people since losing my sight back in 2013. Whether I’m sitting next to a person on the bus or train, or just walking home from town, I’ve encountered a vast amount of people, talking to me about their lives. When I was a long cane user people recognise that I can’t see well and offered me assistance, on a few occasions I’ve truly needed the help as I’ve missed a turn or in a big open space unsure of which direction to take, when people have come up to me and asked if I was ok. More often than not I know where I am and where I’m going but if I mention which direction I’m heading and they are too, we tend to walk together chatting. It’s a lovely experience and it opens my eyes to the kindness and thoughtfulness of others, these people are what keep my faith in humanity.
Educating the public
Now that I have #IdaTheGuider as my 24 seven companion, even more people come up to me and want to interact with us. Honestly, it’s like being a sidekick to a celebrity I’m an educator at heart and I love nothing more than stopping, interacting, and explaining her role and why she is so vital to my independence. I’ve had many opportunities over the years to speak to groups of 10, to groups of hundreds of people educating them about visual impairment, how it is a spectrum, the freedom Ida gives me but the hard work we must both put in frequently to keep our partnership to a high standard and the general things of how I live my life as a blind person, work as a freelancer and travel solo. Do you use these Disability perks to your advantage? What other Benefits of being disabled can you add to the list?
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Reblogged this on World Health Innovation Summit.
Love the fact that you have focussed on the positives, what a great outlook you have. Thank you for sharing, this is a lovely post. All the best for 2016 x #happydiaries
Hi Kerry-ann,
Thanks for your lovely comment! I think there is always a benefit of being positive, or at least trying to find the positive in not so great situations 🙂
Looking forward to getting to know you more through the #HappyDiaries Linky 🙂
Take care, xxx
Great #happydiaries post.
There are positives in everything in life – I’m trying to really focus on that this year and so far it’s improved my outlook so much 🙂
Thanks Kirsty!
I couldn’t agree more! Life seems a whole lot easier when you don’t dwell and stress too much 🙂 I choose positivity 🙂 You should have joined us in the #NoComplaints 🙂 I love the #HappyDiaries as it gives you something to focus on, and gives you reasons to write the positives 🙂 xxx
My nephew is autistic and my bother says one of the few benifits of that is they get to queue jump at places like Alton Towers (nephew loves rollercoaster).
Free buss passes are also great. I support adults with learning disabilities to be as independant as possible and one of the ways we do this is to get them using buses to get places on rheir own or with carers.
I love how you have such a positive attitude towards your disability, its an inspiration to others. Thanks for sharing with us, Tracey xx #happydiaries
There is always a benefit to be found Tracey 🙂 I’m glad places like Alton Towers are so accommodating 🙂 xxx
Fab post to help others realise what they’re entitled to and dispell the myths around benefits for people with disabilities.xx
Well done as always Sassy!x
Thanks Gemma, I do hope it can help 🙂 xxx
I love your positive attitude lovely x
Thanks Ash 🙂 xxx
I love this post! Can I come to a theme park with you! Xx
Thanks lovely! Haha, you’d have to fight Gary off. but i’m sure I could find another VI person to assist us on such endeavours! 🙂 xxx
I love that you have focused on the positives, sometimes it’s hard to think of it this way. I’m with you on the blue badge, people get very tetchy about who is parking there and it’s quite gratifying to get out and into my wheelchair. I get the queue jumping too, but that does make me feel kind of guilty.
Thank you Ann, I think it helps to try and find the positives, that way you aren’t beating yourself up all the time.
Haha, I know what you mean, people will just angrily stare you down until they have the proof in front of their very eyes!
Oh don’t fell bad, it’s one of the few times it’s cool to be disabled, because everyone wants to come with! 😉 xxx
i’m scott harvey and i was born with spina bifida i don’t see being disabled an advantage in life at all sorry too say there are a lot of negatives,abled bodied people don’t treat you like everyone else,and thats what gets on my nerves.your called names like spastic which really pmo….i’ve never been given a go by an employer for a job i was told years ago because of my disability that i’m to much of a financal risk all i’ve ever asked of abled bodied society is to give me a chance to prove my self but no employer will .so in the end society will never treat a disabiled person with dignity and respect and to be accepted as part of the society as a whole,which is a sad shame….
Hey Scott,
Firstly, thanks so much for reading the blog and taking the time to leave a comment. I’m sorry to hear that society is treating you this way. Have you had any success with finding a job yet? I’m also on social media if you wanted to reach out and chat. Xxx
I never got out of PE completely, but I was allowed to go swimming, which was way more fun than what everyone else was doing!
Oh my God, if I was allowed to swim in my PE lessons, it would have been the best! Glad you got to enjoy swimming! Thanks for taking the time to read the post and leave a comment. Xxx