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Making toilets accessible - Crohns and Colitis Awareness Week

After a successful campaign by Crohn's and Colitis UK calling on the UK's largest supermarkets to further support people with 'invisible' illnesses, Morrisons supermarket is to change the signage on accessible toilets to reflect that not every disability is visible.
The 1st - 7th December is Crohns and Colitis Awareness Week, a time to get talking, sharing and working hard to break the taboo that surrounds Inflammatory Bowel Disease and any other illnesses that involve the toilet and so this is wonderful news this week.

I have Ulcerative Colitis and an ostomy bag and so things like this will make my life so much easier, it can be really tough to use accessible toilets and face judgement from others as they can't see my illness by looking at me.
I have struggled in the past with people not understanding what my needs are, both members of the public and staff at events who seem to have not had any training in invisible disabilities. I have been told by security staff before that "disabled toilets are only for people in a wheelchair", refusing to accept that she was wrong and that we use the term accessible toilets (for a good reason!)
And so any awareness raising that can happen seems like a good thing to me, shining a light on invisible disabilities is a positive action and feels like a step in the right direction for all disabilities teaching other that there is More Than Meets The Eye.
What do you think about these signs? Will they help you? Do you sometimes wonder why seemingly non-disabled people are using accessible toilets?
The 1st - 7th December is Crohns and Colitis Awareness Week, a time to get talking, sharing and working hard to break the taboo that surrounds Inflammatory Bowel Disease and any other illnesses that involve the toilet and so this is wonderful news this week.

I have Ulcerative Colitis and an ostomy bag and so things like this will make my life so much easier, it can be really tough to use accessible toilets and face judgement from others as they can't see my illness by looking at me.
I have struggled in the past with people not understanding what my needs are, both members of the public and staff at events who seem to have not had any training in invisible disabilities. I have been told by security staff before that "disabled toilets are only for people in a wheelchair", refusing to accept that she was wrong and that we use the term accessible toilets (for a good reason!)
And so any awareness raising that can happen seems like a good thing to me, shining a light on invisible disabilities is a positive action and feels like a step in the right direction for all disabilities teaching other that there is More Than Meets The Eye.
What do you think about these signs? Will they help you? Do you sometimes wonder why seemingly non-disabled people are using accessible toilets?
Scope
Senior online community officer
Senior online community officer
Replies
I do not know exactly how signage could be altered to reflect the diverse range of needs or to change attitudes towards apparently able-bodied users of such.
One thing I would say, though, is that I was once "caught out" badly in my local Aldi and even though there were no toilets in the open store, speaking with a member of staff quietly resulted in my being allowed to use a fully accessible toilet in the back - that is the sort of positive attitude that makes a store get a gold star from me.
However I think it's very difficult to ever find a sign that can be fully inclusive and instead people need to be educated. The sign is just an easy way to mark something as "disabled use only", no matter what logos were used someone would always feel they had been ignored.
Our local Lidl and Aldi don't.
I have a Radar Key but local toilets are no where to be seen.
We all need to shop. Please bring this to the awareness of supermarket designs and adaptations to stores that don't currently have them.
Suffer of a hidden disability.
Senior online community officer
I am well aware of the problem as my transplanted immune system is always attacking me and some of my skeleton has died due to long-term steroid use. None of this can be seen.
On the other hand it can also work the other way around when (usually old) people in the disabled car row watch you until you get the blue badge out.
Will the revised signs help? No.
Do you sometimes wonder why seemingly non-disabled people are using accessible toilets? No but then I'm one of them.
The blue badge shows a wheel chair. The standard architectural disability symbol is a wheel chair.
If Scope wants to help then provide;
Though a wheelchair user myself i have no problem with anyone whos disabled using these facilities. We dont have a right to judge anyone.
Though we can all judge ourselves and be sensible. If you have a disabilty and visisble or not if you can use other toilets then you should.
These toilets have been specifically designed look at building M regualtions and British Standards with the needs of wheelchair users in mind. As are parking spaces for information.
Thus if you can use other toilets or other parking spaces perhaps disabled people need to be self considerate and think about maybe others whos needs are greater.
Personally i think we need a whole new discussion on this subject. As times and technology have changed and even most disabled toilets though designed no longer are fit for purpose. As stated the design criteria is for manual wheelchair to do 360. A lot of people including myself now use powerchairs. Which are bigger The design of these toilets also dont incuide provision of four to five different bins/recpeticles or use by mothers for changing babies.
This discussion is like organsaitions/stores having what they call autism freindly hours. Again these are always on a quite profit day and at a time when most people dont use the stores anyway. Again an illusion of doing something when in effect doing the bear minimum.
Appologies for grammer and spelling - i have the pleasure of having dyslexia too :-)
I do agree though that accessible toilets are not truly accessible for all, I fully support the changing places group.
I spoke to so many people who arent wheelchair users who use accessible toilets because they allow them to get out of the house, there was a man with tourettes who has very bad tics where his head throws to the side, a larger cubicle allows him to safely use the toilet.
I spoke to a mother who's daughter has extra needs and cannot use the toilet unaided, the accessible toilets mean they can go out together.
I spoke to people with cancer who need the space to use the bathroom with dignity.
Accessible toilets are not just for wheelchair users, they are for people who have extra needs.
Senior online community officer