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Since I am young, was quite athletic before becoming ill, and am blessed with a natural air of vitality* I generally become the target of people who take it upon themselves to judge who has the right to use handicap parking. My mom gave me a great reply for when people accuse me of not looking disabled that I thought I would share since I think it is awesome.
She told me to just look at them and very sincerely say, "Thank you for saying that I don't look disabled. I've worked very hard, and done years of therapy in order to minimize signs of my disability and live as normally as possible.". Then just walk away.
I think this is the best way to deal with it, since it doesn't feed into the anger or venom, and also makes a point that not all disabilities are immediately obvious and there is a marked difference between good days and bad days for people with disabilities that affect mobility.
*I inherited my grandmother's naturally good coloring and very stoic disposition people who don't know me well can't tell I'm ill until I fall over. Even then, as I am being loaded into an ambulance people will still tell me that I should be fine soon, because my color is still good.
She told me to just look at them and very sincerely say, "Thank you for saying that I don't look disabled. I've worked very hard, and done years of therapy in order to minimize signs of my disability and live as normally as possible.". Then just walk away.
I think this is the best way to deal with it, since it doesn't feed into the anger or venom, and also makes a point that not all disabilities are immediately obvious and there is a marked difference between good days and bad days for people with disabilities that affect mobility.
*I inherited my grandmother's naturally good coloring and very stoic disposition people who don't know me well can't tell I'm ill until I fall over. Even then, as I am being loaded into an ambulance people will still tell me that I should be fine soon, because my color is still good.
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