Invisible Disabilities and Society

I’m not sure if many of you have seen the picture below…I’ve seen it splashed around on Facebook quite a lot lately. At first. I thought “Yep my mum had that ‘look’ too, but she had good reason too. My brothers and I were full on brats when we wanted to be” then I went into the comments and read so many remarks about the lack of parenting that was witnessed.

 

Source: Facebook

 

Here is just an example of the comments…

“This mum let her kid scream….”

“I saw this ma watch as her kid threw himself down and holler….”

“My kid’s perfect in public…” (ugh, please!)

so on and so forth, blah blah blah!!

It got me thinking….how many of these commenters/spectators knew these people personally? Not one comment mentioned “My friend and his/her kid…” so I presume that the answer to my question would be none.

So many of us are so quick to judge other people and their parenting skills, but does anyone stop for a moment and think that there may just be something more to it? Perhaps there’s a very good reason why that child started screaming? Maybe, just maybe, that child is not as lucky as what you were growing up and struggles to grasp the things we take for granted, due to some disability. Anxiety for one, is a very real thing, in both adults and children.

Autism, ADHD, Vision/Hearing impairments, Cognitive Dysfunction, Brain injury and Mental Health disorders…all of these are invisible disabilities. They’re not always obvious to the onlooker and could very well be the cause of that child’s outburst.

Stop and think before you label that child as a ‘brat’. If the tables were reversed and it was you in that Mum/Dad’s shoes, how would that make you feel?

Consider the parent that noticed the way you’ve judged them, that noticed the horrified stares and comments that have you’ve made. The struggle of dealing with their child that suffers from an illness is a battle all on its own, when you add in the fact that they’re being judged by others, makes it ten times harder for them. I know of a couple of mothers that have children with invisible disabilities, and due to the harsh judgement from the public, they now don’t take their kids out with them. The outings that were once meant to be enjoyed as a family, were no longer taken. Things that others with their “perfect children” take for granted, shopping, holidays, trips to the movies to name a few.

Next time you think of making hurtful or harmful remarks, don’t! It’s that simple. Instead think of the added battles that parent may have, the bravery it may have taken them to venture out into the judgemental eyes of society. Be grateful that your children are amid the lucky ones that don’t suffer from an invisible disability.

Til next time,

Stay safe, stay smiling!