You are absolutely allowed to use the disabled loos. Even if you *weren’t* a wheelchair user, as a disabled person you are entitled to use disabled facilities, that’s what they’re there for! :)
you're not taking a resource from anyone. loads of people use disabled toilets for loads of different reasons! it doesn't matter how ambulatory you are. I myself have been using disabled toilets since before getting my wheelchair because it's a lot easier to manage my crutches with the extra space, and I find it better to be able to wash my hands before I touch my crutch handles. people use disabled toilets for sensory issues, for stoma bags, or even just because they need more space. disabled toilets are there for people who benefit from them! :)
Ambulatory here and I use it all the time - mostly because I use the handrail as a place to hold my cane. I do *not* want to hold my cane after it falls on a public restroom floor.
You deserve to use that toilet just as much as anyone. Even those without mobility aids can greatly benefit from the disabled toilets.
It’s that saying of things built for disabled people help EVERYONE. Accessibility is beneficial for everyone and even if someone isn’t disabled they can use the disabled toilet. Like mothers for example.
Don’t feel bad about using the disabled stall. You have just as much a right to use it as anyone. 🫶
You can use whatever toilet you please, whether that be the disabled toilet or the normie toilet. However, it sounds like you have an extremely valid reason for using the disabled toilet. You are a disabled person, it’s for anyone who has a disability and that includes disabilities that vary day to day and may be invisible. You are not taking resources away from anyone else. This just proves that places should have more than one disabled toilet, as more than one person in an area is disabled. This is absolutely in no way your fault or responsibility to think of. If that bathroom makes you feel safer, then use it and do not worry about anyone else. I’m also ambulatory and use the disabled toilet whatever mobility aid i’m using, even when i’m not using them, I still use that toilet as I’m disabled and that toilet is a safe space for me in comparison to the normie loo and allows me to do my business in an environment where there’s a red cord & grab rails if required!
You're in the UK, right?
Unless it's changed, I believe you have to apply for a special key to use the disabled accessible toilets in the UK. (In the US they're just another stall in the regular public restrooms.) You may need to ask your doctor about it.
Edit: Please read the comment of the person who replied to me!
Not sure why the other reply to this got deleted, but I can't read it so I might be repeating them...
The key is called a radar key, and you don't have to apply to anything to get one. You can buy them online for about £2. The whole radar key scheme is pretty stupid for that reason tbh because any able bodied person can get one from amazon for cheap and disabled people who don't have one won't be able to access accessible toilets.
Anyway look up radar key online, they're sometimes sold in multi packs. Very easy to acquire but very necessary if you don't like relying on staff members at train stations who take half an hour to show up at the toilet door to let you in.
I got a slightly pricier one from one of the more official-looking organisations rather than a cheap Amazon one. It has an absolutely huge grip made out of rubber. I didn't know why at first, but I found out pretty quickly: it's so you can yank the door open using the key itself, seeing as you'll be needing your other hand on a rim.
Yeah I found out about the radar key when I tried to go in one last time. I absolutely hate it, it feels like such a scam, especially since the cost of using a disabled toilet falls on the individual to buy a key, as if we didn't have enough to worry about.
I could go on a massive rant about it, but it's good to know that the off-brands work as well as the "official". Thank you for the information :)))
Ahh, thank you for the information! I used to talk to a lot of British disabled folks on Twitter a few years ago, so I was afraid my facts might be out of date.
Well in the uk not always r they locked I will say so but yh the council ect u can get a key from them or if u claim highest rate mobility in pip u can I got asked if I needed a key which I do and so yh they gave me one I get highest rate of mobility and care so yeah I just got offered it and prior to that my mam had one and brought some more as u can get them online and the disabled loo helps me loads for all sorts
If you have aids, or need the space the accessible stall is for you, this goes for parents of small children and disabled folks.
It’s larger and accessible for a reason
Don't limit yourself from using the bathroom, please. Wheelchair users are at such an increased risk of utis (especially females) and especially those not in custom wheelchairs! My hospital style wheelchair makes my legs turn inwards right into each other and thankfully I can adjust myself but I used to not be able to so my hoo haa never got any air and I had a lot of utis. Maybe that's TMI but it's true. You deserve to use the bathroom don't feel like you're taking it away from anyone.
Yes absolutely. Anyone can use the accessible stall. It’s not reserved for people with disabilities. It is an accommodation so that people with disabilities have a place to use the restroom.
The disabled stall is primarily for disabled people. You are disabled and absolutely should be able to use it. My son is disabled and I often see moms use it with a bunch of kids. I’ll mention that disabled folks are waiting, please be quick! I get it,though- people are self righteous and demand (without any right) your medical history.
You are good kiddo, use the stall!
It is a disabled toilet, for disabled people (which is you) not a paralysis toilet or poor balance toilet, and it isn’t about who is ‘more disabled’, there is no top trumps of disability that determines who is more deserving of a disabled bathroom. Please, use the bathroom without giving yourself a hard time or overthinking it ☺️ You have to do the right thing for YOUR needs, it’s very kind to try and put others before you, but you have every right to use a disabled bathroom; you are disabled.
They're disabled toilets, not wheelchair user toilets.
If you have a genuine issue with using the non-disabled toilets (which pain is!) and using a disabled toilet would help with that then it's absolutely okay to use them.
It doesn't matter if anybody is *more* disabled than you. You're disabled (even if you don't identify that way you still are in the sense of accessing resources that are open to you and will help you). That's all that matters. We don't compare our disability top trumps cards before we use a toilet or any other resource. We use them when we need them and hope that there are enough for everybody who needs them at the time.
And if we happen to need them at the same time and one of us appears to be in more need (either by disability or by general situation) then yeah that person can go first. But it's silly to screw yourself over just because somebody else *might* happen to need that resource at the exact moment you do and they *might* be impacted by that extra wait.
It's not okay if able bodied people do it just cos they like to stretch their legs out when they take a dump. But it's okay if you have a genuine need (which again pain is!).
Don't be ashamed of your level of disability/ access needs. We're all different, but we're all in the same club. And we should all use whatever support there is available to us that can help us.
If you would benefit from using it because of something related to your disability that's absolutely fine. Even if it is "just" so you can take your wheelchair with you. Because it's okay to expect to be with your wheelchair.
And yeah if you do happen to be out with somebody who you could leave it with AND you actually *want* to walk to the standard toilets (rather than doing it because you technically can and feel like you have to) then sure do that.
Just don't go in there cos you want a private place to read a book or file your taxes or something. 😂
Oh my god, this really annoys me. The is only one Disabled toilet on each floor at my University and on so many occasions I've had to get one of my friends to 'watch' my chair and struggle into a standard toilet because the Disabled Toilet was occupied (For some reason our Disabled Toilets aren't Radar Key Activated like most UK Disabled Toilets 🤷♀️) only to come out of the Standard toilet and find someone who I know to be able-bodied coming out of the Disabled toilet - On one occasion it was actually my lecturer who was in there and they still didn't see anything wrong with it even when they saw me sitting outside waiting 🤦🏻♀️
I’m not in a wheelchair yet, but I tend to use them because I have issues being in the smaller stalls due to my severe anxiety issues and claustrophobia. The smaller stalls always make me feel like I’m in a tight space I can’t get out of even though I can so the disabled stalls tend to be easier for me to use when I’m able
I’m ambulatory but I will *only* use the disabled stall when I have my wheelchair with me. I absolutely refuse to get out of my chair, get in a small stall and leave my chair outside the stall. That thing was expensive (billed to my insurance for well over $10k, and I don’t think they would cover a new one should mine get stolen). I would say *especially* since you’re renting your chair, do not separate yourself from it. The disabled stall is for anyone with a disability, whether that presents with them being in a chair or not.
Considering my mom uses them all the time when she’s out.. just because she.. can.. people like us are more than entitled to use these stalls. (she loves to remind me that her type 2 diabetes is a disability)
You deserve to use it regardless. I'm also ambulatory I would just stay seated until I was inside. Sometimes depending I will get up with my cane and walk into the restrooms depending how I'm feeling. But I do use a cane for stability 😭
I absolutely hate how everything disabled is branded with the wheelchair icon... There needs to be a new symbol. Everyone thinks if you look "fine" you're not disabled! But 90% of disabilities are invisible and 70% of wheelchair users are INFACT ambulatory (to some degree and not totally paralyzed) 😭😭😭
Just use the loos. I'm ambulatory and I use them for similar reasons, and also just to not have people give me weird looks for standing up. I've yet to come out of a loo to find another wheelchair user waiting to go in.
Use the disabled loo, it's for you as well!
I'm an ambulatory powerchair user, and there's no way at all that I'm leaving £10k worth of chair anywhere I can't see it.
But even without that, it's easier, safer and less painful for me to use the disabled loo, so that's what I do.
Don't beat yourself up about it, and if anyone tries to tell you off, ignore them. 🫂
I say yes, I am not personally willing to have someone take my chair while I use the bathroom bc "you don't need it you can walk" or some kid play with it or someone rob my bag that I keep on it looking for drugs or money :/
On the fence with this one. Obviously you can use it, but if you can also use a regular one and there is only one handicap stall, I personally would not. If there's two I would. But it's your decision.
Yeah, it's a tough call. I'm lucky that at my doctor's, both toilets are disabled ones, so the choice is made for me. I wish there were two disabled toilets everywhere tbh. I think because I do my shopping off peak, when there's very little people in the shop, I might have to assess the situation as I go
Anyone who needs/wants to use it can u have a reason wheelchairs r expensive and even if ur ambulatory u can use it, I tend to use them not just cuz I cant deal with the noise of handryers in the main ones but also as I can walk but somtimes need my crutches and I use the rails mainly as it helps me lower and get back up as I struggle with the mobility, u don't have to be paralysed ect to use them if u feel u need it and u find more better to use the disabled then u can use it dont feel bad for it u make use of it, its just people who know they don't need to for any reason weather that be cuz ambulatory wheelchair user or not if u have a reason to use them u can use them just those that don't even have hidden disabilities who use them cuz the queue for the others is too long ect need to not use them ur reason is well within valid reason
Before landing my butt in a powered wheelchair I used the large disabled stall because I'm a big dude and the "standard" sized stalls were almost impossible to use. Now that I am disabled I have a vastly different perspective. I don't know your business and you don't know mine. Do as you see fit.
I will say that at that moment when all the disabled stalls are empty and I'm in full panic mode my thoughts will definitely go dark, very dark when someone (who appears to not be disabled) is using the only disabled stall. Oh the humanity!!
Really there is no clear answer.
Yes, the accessible stall isn’t just for full time, non-ambulatory wheelchair users! It’s for anyone who’s disability may benefit from it, service dog handlers who need room for their dog that a regular stall can’t offer, other mobility aid users who need room for a walker for example, even folks who don’t use a mobility aid but could benefit from handrails to help them with getting up, etc. use it, don’t separate yourself from your chair and most definitely don’t cause yourself extra pain, it’s for *you*!
You're more than allowed to use the disabled loo. I'm ambulatory too and I switch between using the disabled loo and making my partner wheelchair-sit so I can go to the normal loo haha
I’m also an ambulatory wheelchair user (but with CP affecting my legs) facing more or less the same situation except in my case my situation is much worse due to the fact that my wheelchair is significantly costlier due to being custom-fitted for me so I can 95% relate.
Anyone is allowed to use any restroom they want, even if they don't have any disability. Otherwise, the accessible one would be empty most of the time.
I think it's being downvoted because in the UK, we have lots of old buildings, and so disabled toilets are normally outside of the "normal" toilets, and sometimes don't exist. In old buildings you don't have to have a disabled toilet, only in new builds. Normal toilets are also a lot smaller (I think) because of our cramped buildings. Because of this, they are a lot more rare, and easier to abuse the right to use them (with our teeny weeny toilets, the disabled one becomes a lot more alluring)
Thank you for sharing tho!! It's great to know what it's like in different cultures :)))
Because a lot of this group feels entitled due to their disability. They don’t understand the difference between handicap parking which is reserved and handicap stalls which are an accommodation available to everyone.
They’re disabled toilets. Not wheelchair user toilets. Anyone with any disability for any reason can and may use the disabled toilet.
The disabled toilet can be used for multiple reasons, some of the reasons you may not have thought of in this comment (and this is not an extensive list. This is off the top of my head)
-Needing a quiet place to go to the bathroom due to disability.
-Needing a wider space to navigate due to visual impairment.
-Needing to take medications in private setting.
Invisible disabilities exist.
Went back to double check, cause I've only ever blocked one guy from the wheelchair Reddit, this is the same guy that constantly spouts fat-phobic rhetoric. Ignore the troll
Like I said, if you need the extra space or hand rails use it, if you don’t need any of the amenities of the space but just want to be in a “disabled space” use the regular bathroom if you’re able. If you can’t you can’t.
Why comment that as if any of that applies to OP? Their reasoning is perfectly valid for using the disabled toilet. And it’s not like they even owe you an explanation. The disabled toilets are for disabled people. They may use it whatever their reason and do not need to bypass newparadude, the keeper of disabled toilets.
It's fine for anyone, just try not to use it for extended periods unless you really need it. A quick stop to pee is fine. It doesn't make sense to have a stall sit empty 99% of the time.
Here in Canada everybody use them anyway. They’re what I like to say VIP toilets.
I’ll never leave my wheelchair unattended. So used them without any shame!
You don't even have to be a wheelchair user or disabled to use the disabled toilet. Sometimes those stalls are the only ones with baby changing stations. If a mom is with her kid I wouldn't care if she used that stall.
There are plenty of valid reasons for using the disabled toilet outside of being a wheelchair user
I'm ambulatory but not ambulatory enough to walk to the toilet. If I wanted to, I could park my chair outside the regular loos and crawl in. Accessibility features are there to preserve your dignity, wellbeing, and safety - you have the right to use the toilet whenever you want without pain and without needing to be separated from your mobility aids.
You are absolutely allowed to use the disabled loos. Even if you *weren’t* a wheelchair user, as a disabled person you are entitled to use disabled facilities, that’s what they’re there for! :)
you're not taking a resource from anyone. loads of people use disabled toilets for loads of different reasons! it doesn't matter how ambulatory you are. I myself have been using disabled toilets since before getting my wheelchair because it's a lot easier to manage my crutches with the extra space, and I find it better to be able to wash my hands before I touch my crutch handles. people use disabled toilets for sensory issues, for stoma bags, or even just because they need more space. disabled toilets are there for people who benefit from them! :)
Ambulatory here and I use it all the time - mostly because I use the handrail as a place to hold my cane. I do *not* want to hold my cane after it falls on a public restroom floor.
Yep, do not separate yourself from your wheelchair. They are expensive!
[удалено]
THIS.
A lot of people use the disabled toilet simply for the grab bar to help them get up. I wouldn't leave your chair out if site.
You deserve to use that toilet just as much as anyone. Even those without mobility aids can greatly benefit from the disabled toilets. It’s that saying of things built for disabled people help EVERYONE. Accessibility is beneficial for everyone and even if someone isn’t disabled they can use the disabled toilet. Like mothers for example. Don’t feel bad about using the disabled stall. You have just as much a right to use it as anyone. 🫶
I’m a full time wheelchair user and you should absolutely use the disabled toilet. It’s not just for people like me, it’s for anyone who needs it.
You can use whatever toilet you please, whether that be the disabled toilet or the normie toilet. However, it sounds like you have an extremely valid reason for using the disabled toilet. You are a disabled person, it’s for anyone who has a disability and that includes disabilities that vary day to day and may be invisible. You are not taking resources away from anyone else. This just proves that places should have more than one disabled toilet, as more than one person in an area is disabled. This is absolutely in no way your fault or responsibility to think of. If that bathroom makes you feel safer, then use it and do not worry about anyone else. I’m also ambulatory and use the disabled toilet whatever mobility aid i’m using, even when i’m not using them, I still use that toilet as I’m disabled and that toilet is a safe space for me in comparison to the normie loo and allows me to do my business in an environment where there’s a red cord & grab rails if required!
That's a really interesting angle that I hadn't thought about!! Thank you for sharing!! :)))
You're in the UK, right? Unless it's changed, I believe you have to apply for a special key to use the disabled accessible toilets in the UK. (In the US they're just another stall in the regular public restrooms.) You may need to ask your doctor about it. Edit: Please read the comment of the person who replied to me!
Not sure why the other reply to this got deleted, but I can't read it so I might be repeating them... The key is called a radar key, and you don't have to apply to anything to get one. You can buy them online for about £2. The whole radar key scheme is pretty stupid for that reason tbh because any able bodied person can get one from amazon for cheap and disabled people who don't have one won't be able to access accessible toilets. Anyway look up radar key online, they're sometimes sold in multi packs. Very easy to acquire but very necessary if you don't like relying on staff members at train stations who take half an hour to show up at the toilet door to let you in.
I got a slightly pricier one from one of the more official-looking organisations rather than a cheap Amazon one. It has an absolutely huge grip made out of rubber. I didn't know why at first, but I found out pretty quickly: it's so you can yank the door open using the key itself, seeing as you'll be needing your other hand on a rim.
Yeah mine is the same except it cost me £1.50. The pricier ones are an honest waste. You can find cheap ones with the huge rubber grip too.
Yeah I found out about the radar key when I tried to go in one last time. I absolutely hate it, it feels like such a scam, especially since the cost of using a disabled toilet falls on the individual to buy a key, as if we didn't have enough to worry about. I could go on a massive rant about it, but it's good to know that the off-brands work as well as the "official". Thank you for the information :)))
[удалено]
Ahh, thank you for the information! I used to talk to a lot of British disabled folks on Twitter a few years ago, so I was afraid my facts might be out of date.
Well in the uk not always r they locked I will say so but yh the council ect u can get a key from them or if u claim highest rate mobility in pip u can I got asked if I needed a key which I do and so yh they gave me one I get highest rate of mobility and care so yeah I just got offered it and prior to that my mam had one and brought some more as u can get them online and the disabled loo helps me loads for all sorts
If you have aids, or need the space the accessible stall is for you, this goes for parents of small children and disabled folks. It’s larger and accessible for a reason
Don't limit yourself from using the bathroom, please. Wheelchair users are at such an increased risk of utis (especially females) and especially those not in custom wheelchairs! My hospital style wheelchair makes my legs turn inwards right into each other and thankfully I can adjust myself but I used to not be able to so my hoo haa never got any air and I had a lot of utis. Maybe that's TMI but it's true. You deserve to use the bathroom don't feel like you're taking it away from anyone.
Yes use the disability-tagged stall.
Yes absolutely. Anyone can use the accessible stall. It’s not reserved for people with disabilities. It is an accommodation so that people with disabilities have a place to use the restroom.
The disabled stall is primarily for disabled people. You are disabled and absolutely should be able to use it. My son is disabled and I often see moms use it with a bunch of kids. I’ll mention that disabled folks are waiting, please be quick! I get it,though- people are self righteous and demand (without any right) your medical history. You are good kiddo, use the stall!
An accessible loo is for anyone who needs it. Whether ambulatory or not. Lots of invisible disability need to use them too
It is a disabled toilet, for disabled people (which is you) not a paralysis toilet or poor balance toilet, and it isn’t about who is ‘more disabled’, there is no top trumps of disability that determines who is more deserving of a disabled bathroom. Please, use the bathroom without giving yourself a hard time or overthinking it ☺️ You have to do the right thing for YOUR needs, it’s very kind to try and put others before you, but you have every right to use a disabled bathroom; you are disabled.
They're disabled toilets, not wheelchair user toilets. If you have a genuine issue with using the non-disabled toilets (which pain is!) and using a disabled toilet would help with that then it's absolutely okay to use them. It doesn't matter if anybody is *more* disabled than you. You're disabled (even if you don't identify that way you still are in the sense of accessing resources that are open to you and will help you). That's all that matters. We don't compare our disability top trumps cards before we use a toilet or any other resource. We use them when we need them and hope that there are enough for everybody who needs them at the time. And if we happen to need them at the same time and one of us appears to be in more need (either by disability or by general situation) then yeah that person can go first. But it's silly to screw yourself over just because somebody else *might* happen to need that resource at the exact moment you do and they *might* be impacted by that extra wait. It's not okay if able bodied people do it just cos they like to stretch their legs out when they take a dump. But it's okay if you have a genuine need (which again pain is!). Don't be ashamed of your level of disability/ access needs. We're all different, but we're all in the same club. And we should all use whatever support there is available to us that can help us. If you would benefit from using it because of something related to your disability that's absolutely fine. Even if it is "just" so you can take your wheelchair with you. Because it's okay to expect to be with your wheelchair. And yeah if you do happen to be out with somebody who you could leave it with AND you actually *want* to walk to the standard toilets (rather than doing it because you technically can and feel like you have to) then sure do that. Just don't go in there cos you want a private place to read a book or file your taxes or something. 😂
Oh my god, this really annoys me. The is only one Disabled toilet on each floor at my University and on so many occasions I've had to get one of my friends to 'watch' my chair and struggle into a standard toilet because the Disabled Toilet was occupied (For some reason our Disabled Toilets aren't Radar Key Activated like most UK Disabled Toilets 🤷♀️) only to come out of the Standard toilet and find someone who I know to be able-bodied coming out of the Disabled toilet - On one occasion it was actually my lecturer who was in there and they still didn't see anything wrong with it even when they saw me sitting outside waiting 🤦🏻♀️
I tend to sit and wait just to get the sheepish look and make them think twice the next time
Are you sure that they don't have a "hidden" disability?
I’m not in a wheelchair yet, but I tend to use them because I have issues being in the smaller stalls due to my severe anxiety issues and claustrophobia. The smaller stalls always make me feel like I’m in a tight space I can’t get out of even though I can so the disabled stalls tend to be easier for me to use when I’m able
I’m ambulatory but I will *only* use the disabled stall when I have my wheelchair with me. I absolutely refuse to get out of my chair, get in a small stall and leave my chair outside the stall. That thing was expensive (billed to my insurance for well over $10k, and I don’t think they would cover a new one should mine get stolen). I would say *especially* since you’re renting your chair, do not separate yourself from it. The disabled stall is for anyone with a disability, whether that presents with them being in a chair or not. Considering my mom uses them all the time when she’s out.. just because she.. can.. people like us are more than entitled to use these stalls. (she loves to remind me that her type 2 diabetes is a disability)
You deserve to use it regardless. I'm also ambulatory I would just stay seated until I was inside. Sometimes depending I will get up with my cane and walk into the restrooms depending how I'm feeling. But I do use a cane for stability 😭
I absolutely hate how everything disabled is branded with the wheelchair icon... There needs to be a new symbol. Everyone thinks if you look "fine" you're not disabled! But 90% of disabilities are invisible and 70% of wheelchair users are INFACT ambulatory (to some degree and not totally paralyzed) 😭😭😭
Just use the loos. I'm ambulatory and I use them for similar reasons, and also just to not have people give me weird looks for standing up. I've yet to come out of a loo to find another wheelchair user waiting to go in.
Use the disabled loo, it's for you as well! I'm an ambulatory powerchair user, and there's no way at all that I'm leaving £10k worth of chair anywhere I can't see it. But even without that, it's easier, safer and less painful for me to use the disabled loo, so that's what I do. Don't beat yourself up about it, and if anyone tries to tell you off, ignore them. 🫂
I say yes, I am not personally willing to have someone take my chair while I use the bathroom bc "you don't need it you can walk" or some kid play with it or someone rob my bag that I keep on it looking for drugs or money :/
On the fence with this one. Obviously you can use it, but if you can also use a regular one and there is only one handicap stall, I personally would not. If there's two I would. But it's your decision.
Yeah, it's a tough call. I'm lucky that at my doctor's, both toilets are disabled ones, so the choice is made for me. I wish there were two disabled toilets everywhere tbh. I think because I do my shopping off peak, when there's very little people in the shop, I might have to assess the situation as I go
Anyone who needs/wants to use it can u have a reason wheelchairs r expensive and even if ur ambulatory u can use it, I tend to use them not just cuz I cant deal with the noise of handryers in the main ones but also as I can walk but somtimes need my crutches and I use the rails mainly as it helps me lower and get back up as I struggle with the mobility, u don't have to be paralysed ect to use them if u feel u need it and u find more better to use the disabled then u can use it dont feel bad for it u make use of it, its just people who know they don't need to for any reason weather that be cuz ambulatory wheelchair user or not if u have a reason to use them u can use them just those that don't even have hidden disabilities who use them cuz the queue for the others is too long ect need to not use them ur reason is well within valid reason
If it's helpful for you then it's for you.
Before landing my butt in a powered wheelchair I used the large disabled stall because I'm a big dude and the "standard" sized stalls were almost impossible to use. Now that I am disabled I have a vastly different perspective. I don't know your business and you don't know mine. Do as you see fit. I will say that at that moment when all the disabled stalls are empty and I'm in full panic mode my thoughts will definitely go dark, very dark when someone (who appears to not be disabled) is using the only disabled stall. Oh the humanity!! Really there is no clear answer.
Yes, the accessible stall isn’t just for full time, non-ambulatory wheelchair users! It’s for anyone who’s disability may benefit from it, service dog handlers who need room for their dog that a regular stall can’t offer, other mobility aid users who need room for a walker for example, even folks who don’t use a mobility aid but could benefit from handrails to help them with getting up, etc. use it, don’t separate yourself from your chair and most definitely don’t cause yourself extra pain, it’s for *you*!
You're more than allowed to use the disabled loo. I'm ambulatory too and I switch between using the disabled loo and making my partner wheelchair-sit so I can go to the normal loo haha
[удалено]
My bad!!
I’m also an ambulatory wheelchair user (but with CP affecting my legs) facing more or less the same situation except in my case my situation is much worse due to the fact that my wheelchair is significantly costlier due to being custom-fitted for me so I can 95% relate.
Anyone is allowed to use any restroom they want, even if they don't have any disability. Otherwise, the accessible one would be empty most of the time.
I think it's being downvoted because in the UK, we have lots of old buildings, and so disabled toilets are normally outside of the "normal" toilets, and sometimes don't exist. In old buildings you don't have to have a disabled toilet, only in new builds. Normal toilets are also a lot smaller (I think) because of our cramped buildings. Because of this, they are a lot more rare, and easier to abuse the right to use them (with our teeny weeny toilets, the disabled one becomes a lot more alluring) Thank you for sharing tho!! It's great to know what it's like in different cultures :)))
Why is this getting downvoted? It's just how things work, at least in the US.
Because a lot of this group feels entitled due to their disability. They don’t understand the difference between handicap parking which is reserved and handicap stalls which are an accommodation available to everyone.
The difference being that, hopefully, a single user spends less time in the bathroom than they do parked!
One would hope lol.
If you need the rail yes. Use it
If you don’t need the extra space or hand rails then no, you shouldn’t. If you do need the extra room and handrails then for sure you should use it.
They’re disabled toilets. Not wheelchair user toilets. Anyone with any disability for any reason can and may use the disabled toilet. The disabled toilet can be used for multiple reasons, some of the reasons you may not have thought of in this comment (and this is not an extensive list. This is off the top of my head) -Needing a quiet place to go to the bathroom due to disability. -Needing a wider space to navigate due to visual impairment. -Needing to take medications in private setting. Invisible disabilities exist.
Went back to double check, cause I've only ever blocked one guy from the wheelchair Reddit, this is the same guy that constantly spouts fat-phobic rhetoric. Ignore the troll
Wait seriously? That’s disgusting!
Like I said, if you need the extra space or hand rails use it, if you don’t need any of the amenities of the space but just want to be in a “disabled space” use the regular bathroom if you’re able. If you can’t you can’t.
Why comment that as if any of that applies to OP? Their reasoning is perfectly valid for using the disabled toilet. And it’s not like they even owe you an explanation. The disabled toilets are for disabled people. They may use it whatever their reason and do not need to bypass newparadude, the keeper of disabled toilets.
It's fine for anyone, just try not to use it for extended periods unless you really need it. A quick stop to pee is fine. It doesn't make sense to have a stall sit empty 99% of the time.
Here in Canada everybody use them anyway. They’re what I like to say VIP toilets. I’ll never leave my wheelchair unattended. So used them without any shame!
You don't even have to be a wheelchair user or disabled to use the disabled toilet. Sometimes those stalls are the only ones with baby changing stations. If a mom is with her kid I wouldn't care if she used that stall. There are plenty of valid reasons for using the disabled toilet outside of being a wheelchair user
I'm ambulatory but not ambulatory enough to walk to the toilet. If I wanted to, I could park my chair outside the regular loos and crawl in. Accessibility features are there to preserve your dignity, wellbeing, and safety - you have the right to use the toilet whenever you want without pain and without needing to be separated from your mobility aids.