Disabled

bondy104 · 28. Jun 2020, 19:47

Does Osteoarthritis class as a disablement?

Mike1 · 29. Jun 2020, 05:54

It depends how much your OA has spread and how much it affects you, in my case I am so affected that I need crutches and a wheelchair, aids to help in all aspects of daily living, a home help, can't work, am in constant pain and so forth. A lot of the time I consider myself to be surviving rather than living so yes, I am disabled.

dreamdaisy · 29. Jun 2020, 08:09

Ah, along with the A, C and F words we have the D word. I think that anything which stops you living in similar way to the healthy majority can be classed as a disability. Some disabilities are temporary (e.g. tummy bugs) some more debilitating whilst they last (e.g. headaches) some longer term (broken limbs) and others with no end, like arthritis. Some disabilites cause little or no pain but are very visible, others cause immense pain and are not.

I am in my 24th year of two kinds of arthritis, in constant pain and not afraid to use the D word because, compared to the norm, I am. So what? Yes, it affects my life and has changed how I do things but it never has, and never will, affect what I get from life. I am fortunate, however, in that I have done the hard yards with work (which was simplified by being self-employed) and can now enjoy doing the stuff I want to do rather than the stuff I had to do. Well, I could until covid 19 and I decided to shield. I regard myself as diseased but, by the usual measures, healthy.

As I have deteriorated I have aquired the kit necessary to help me do more and go further. I began arthritis when I was young enough to still have plastic thinking, I was able to see the use and value of aids and my lack of vanity was useful too. Am I disabled? Yes. Does it matter? No, because I live in an age with all manner of things there to help me help myself to do better. DD

MoWW · 29. Jun 2020, 08:56

Hello @bondy104

There are only a few conditions where you would be automatically protected under the Equality Act 2010 - HIV infection, cancer or multiple sclerosis.

The guidance on disability under the EqA can be found here;

https://www.gov.uk/definition-of-disability-under-equality-act-2010

It is not the condition you are living with, but how it impacts on you. The criteria is detailed on the Government website.

'You’re disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities.'

Disability Rights UK also have a range of if factsheets and information that may help you. https://www.disabilityrightsuk.org/how-we-can-help

Hope this is of help.

Mo

bondy104 · 30. Jun 2020, 09:01

Thank you for your help, u hope I didn't offend anyone with the D word. I'm trying to get my head around what I do next. Its getting worse for me and I'm just trying to look at options.
Thanks again

historynut · 30. Jun 2020, 09:41

I've got OA in my hips, knee spine and neck. I didn't class myself as disabled until i realised that my life was impacted in such a way. When i applied for a blue badge I ended up asking myself questions about how far i can walk and how easy i cope with day to day living. Until i wrote it down in black and white, i hadn't realised the extent to which my life had been impacted.

Other people didn't use the term, i have started to but its taken me a long time to get used to it. I don't think i ever will. Not even my own parents really thought about me being disabled, until they realised the support i needed. I still don't think they believe/understand it.

Do i make a joke with my wife about skipping ques at theme parks -yes.

Do i wish that wasn't the case - yes.

Someone said to me something useful about the process 'this is challenging your own view of what a disability looks like'. It clicked then, between all the medications, pain and stress, my life has impacted. I need assistance and help

Airwave! · 30. Jun 2020, 20:23

Disability is not something in our minds it’s a reality that we have to accept, a very real word with no undertones to it, go to the cliff edge and shout it out without apology. It’s not a ‘D’ word.

I can cycle but my walking is restricted, I can surf but not swim easily, I can cook well but not stand for long, I am good at many things and not able to do many other things, am I disabled? If I can’t do as an able bodied man can then I am.

it’s a grin, honest!

Mike1 · 1. Jul 2020, 03:55

I often refer to myself as a cripple especially when speaking to someone I haven't met before, the normal reaction is that I then get chastised and told it is not a politically correct term to which I giggle. I can be a bit of a "b" at times 😁

N1gel · 1. Jul 2020, 16:31

The people that think about these things have two different approaches; The Social Model of Disability and the Medical Model of Disability.

The (old) Medical model took the pragmatic approach of establishing a yardstick of tasks that an 'able bodied' person could do and however many you couldn't do; that was how 'disabled' you were. Much loved by the DWP and large parts of the medical profession. Who were only ever interested in my body😊

The Social Model says that a person is disabled by the extent to which their condition or societies perception of them prevents them integrating into that society. So it's up to Society to adjust to them.

Both are models or frameworks and neither is perfect, the Medical model is a lot less perfect :-)

Airwave makes some very good points, likewise I can do things others (and my previous Physio) can't.

In spite of recent OA resulting from a long term condition I've got a degree and a diploma, exhibited my sculpture professionally, I used to fly, I volunteer at a local gallery/museum from my wheelchair, am active in the Housing Association and probably make more of a contribution to 'society' than previous Physio did. Yet she described me as 'Severely Disabled' and tried to supervise my life and predicted a demise into inactivity - so I 'sacked' her 😆My present Physio is brilliant and encouraging..

The point is, it's worth bearing these two approaches or models in mind when dealing with a monolith like the DWP, particularly when doing PIP or ESA assessments. Of course we want to stay positive and focus on what we can do, but if we're trying to do that in a 'Medical Model' environment it's weighted against us. I was always amused to see a rider on the PIP task assessment questions on whether you could do the task as often and as fast as you would want to, well I set myself olympian standards me.

IMHO the same 'Disability' affects no two people the same way. That's why it's such a contentious term to quantify.

Disabled

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