Finding an advocate when you don't have the right type of disability

PalomaPyjama82
PalomaPyjama82 Online Community Member Posts: 11 Listener
edited March 25 in Everyday life

Can anyone advise me on how I might go about finding an advocate who could attend doctors and hospital appointments with me and fight for my rights within the medical system? I have speech disorders which have prevented me from accessing proper medical care my whole life.

I've contacted every official advocacy agency I can find details for online and I don't qualify for help from any of them (I don't have any diagnosed mental health problems and nor am I autistic or have dementia - the things that seem to qualify you for advocacy automaticaly) so I feel I have no choice but to go private. And yet there seems to be no private provision for this type of service anywhere in the UK. It looks like I might have to approach people who are not already in this line of work and ask if they would consider working for me or else putting an advert somewhere, but where would I place it and what kind of individuals might I try approaching? I'm beyond desperate at this point. Has anyone got any suggestions or experience?

Comments

  • noonebelieves
    noonebelieves Online Community Member Posts: 627 Championing
    https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/131800/finding-an-advocate-when-you-dont-have-the-right-type-of-disability

    Sorry to hear @PalomaPyjama82 . Can I ask if PoHWer was one of the advocacy support you tried? I have found them to be supportive and they don’t charge (personal experience)

  • PalomaPyjama82
    PalomaPyjama82 Online Community Member Posts: 11 Listener

    I should have said, I'm in Scotland, so it doesn't look like they work in my area sadly :(

  • noonebelieves
    noonebelieves Online Community Member Posts: 627 Championing
    https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/1005854#Comment_1005854

    @PalomaPyjama82 or I should’ve asked where you live 😊. Unfortunately, I have no idea about Scotland but I’m sure someone should be picking up on your post to offer some expert advice. Best wishes

  • noonebelieves
    noonebelieves Online Community Member Posts: 627 Championing

    Hi @PalomaPyjama82 , I’m just checking in to see if you got any answers regarding your query?

    I know how frustrating it could be finding advocacy services . Wishing you the very best

    (This post might bump you up the home page for one of the experts on this forum to answer, so 🤞for you )

  • PalomaPyjama82
    PalomaPyjama82 Online Community Member Posts: 11 Listener

    I didn't unfortunately - I should maybe say here too that my speech disorders are unusual and I sound normal in many situations and can mask well. It's not always obvious that I'm struggling which means I'm not eligible for certain kinds of help (which is totally understandable - I know there are people with greater struggles than I have). I found a company that provides courses for people looking to be advocates for people with speech disorders but they wouldn't or couldn't put me in touch with anyone who's done the course for reasons I don't understand. Just kept suggesting I sign up to do the course myself which obviously isn't a sensible option😂.

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