Acceptance of special needs in USA

[floridianfairy]

Americans are very open and we were asked every day on our last trip in Disney about my DH and DS being hearing impaired and wearing hearing aids, very rarely do people ask in Scotland but they certainly have a good look at you! we loved being asked and enjoyed speaking with some very nice Americans of all ages.Do other Dibbers with special needs experience this when in Orlando?:wave:

[keith&carol]

We would go to live there like a shot if it were possible. Our DD has cerebral palsy with learning difficulties. She is used to being stared at and talked about here but very ,very rarely does anyone speak to her and most places look on her as a nuisance because they have to move a few chairs or something. In Florida she still gets stared at but it's mostly children with natural curiosity which we don't mind at all. Loads of people speak to her and ask about her and the restaurants and Disney C.M.s fall over themselves to be helpful. With all the special needs toilets and ramping etc. it's like a little piece of heaven!
Carol :wavey:

[loadsapixiedust]

Yes, we have found the whole attitude to disability to be very different over there. People are more open about asking questions about a disability, especially in a child and are always talking to our DS who also has CP and uses a wheelchair. There is not the same taboo around disability as we find here.
We have always welcomed kids who have questions as I believe it is the only way they learn, I hate it when kids want to ask something but parents try to shut them up. Here we also get more of the silent staring which can be upsetting. In the US people are more likely to just speak to you.
We have had all sorts of conversations with Americans as everyone seems to know someone who is disabled or uses a wheelchair.
We have also had people come up and tell us how blessed we are to have been given a special child. A guy came up and shook DH's hand in the Seaworld parking lot once as he was fixing DS into his wheelchair.
The fact that everywhere is accessible is like a breath of fresh air for us, no calling ahead to find out if there are stairs in a restaurant or if the door of a shop is wide enough for a wheelchair. That is freedom for us and we love it :D

[stevered1]

I welcome any child who wants to ask questions about my son and his disabilities, its just curiosity on there behalf but you can see the parents wanting them to stop and pull them away, which is a shame as it helps that people understand more

Our son is 4 and too young to goto florida due to his health problems but the one thing I am not going to worry about is how he is treated over there, I have seen how people are when they load a wheelchair and no one minds, over here at a theme park I saw people getting wound up because they had to stop a ride to get someone with disabilities on, if only we could be more accepting like florida etc

[ali and boyz]

Americans are very open and we were asked every day on our last trip in Disney about my DH and DS being hearing impaired and wearing hearing aids, very rarely do people ask in Scotland but they certainly have a good look at you! we loved being asked and enjoyed speaking with some very nice Americans of all ages.Do other Dibbers with special needs experience this when in Orlando?:wave:

I sometimes think we live in a third world country compared to the usa when it comes to special needs. from hiring equipment to getting a parking space :mad2:

my son had a purple wheelchair and when we are in the parks the CM's from nowhere will shout. love you wheels dude.:pgig:

I love living in Scotland and wouldn't want to live anywhere else but from the disability side and access wise we have a lot to learn from the usa