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disability parking permit — worth getting?

napqueen_b
ok real talk, is it worth getting a disability parking placard? i qualify (my doctor already said she'd fill out the paperwork) but i keep going back and forth. pros: not having to walk across huge parking lots on bad days, which would save me energy for actually doing the thing i went out to do cons: i look like a healthy 30 year old and i know im going to get dirty looks and possibly confronted. ive seen the facebook posts. "young person using disability parking" with like 500 angry comments. also theres this part of me that feels like getting one means im "officially" disabled and i dont know if im ready for that label even though functionally... yeah. did anyone else struggle with this decision? how do you deal with the judgment?

5 Replies

dee_cfs

Get it. Seriously. I agonized over this decision for a year and then got it and immediately wondered why I waited so long. The energy you save not walking across parking lots is energy you can use for actually living. That's not nothing. That's HUGE when you're working with limited resources. As for the judgment: most people don't even notice. And the ones who do? They don't know your life. Their opinion is irrelevant. I've been confronted exactly once in 2 years and I simply said "disability is not always visible" and walked away.

tiredofit

i struggled with this too. the "officially disabled" thing is a HUGE mental hurdle and i dont think people talk about it enough. getting the placard felt like admitting something i wasnt ready to admit. but now? i use it on bad days and i dont use it on good days and having the OPTION is what matters. its a tool not a label.

greg_c

I have one. I use it. Zero regrets. The dirty looks happen occasionally. I've developed a very effective blank stare in response. Here's the thing: you qualified for it. Your DOCTOR says you need it. Random strangers in a parking lot do not get a vote. Also: on good days when I don't need the close spot, I leave it at home and walk the extra distance. It's not all or nothing.

kait_b

I'm 32 and I have one and yes I've gotten looks. Once someone literally asked me "what's wrong with you?" and I said "a lot, actually" and kept walking. The identity thing is real. But think of it this way: you're not becoming "officially disabled" by getting a parking placard. You're already disabled — the placard just makes one small part of life slightly less exhausting. Get it. Use it without guilt. You deserve to exist in public without it costing you everything.

user_5520

i put this off for so long and same experience. should have gotten it way earlier. the grocery store alone went from an ordeal to manageable just because of the shorter walk. worth it

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