Just popped out the office there and went for a coffee

[Greedo]

There was a very attractive young girl came limping into the coffee shop behind me.

We're standing in the Q and I say to her. I hope you've not got the same as I had last week as it was agony and was limping like that for days.

Her reply


"Eh no. I limp all the time. I'm disabled!"

How much of a pr*ick did I feel! never assume Greedo, never assume

 

[levad]

I am in the office having a coffee .... and nearly sprayed it all over the keyboard

 

[Pottsy]

He he. Not funny of course.

I saw someone have a similar moment on the tube last week, she offered her seat to a large lady, fat, not pregant as she thought.

 

[amnesia]

Oops...

 

[mr Mag00]

 

[jonny jeez]

There was a very attractive young girl came limping into the coffee shop behind me.

We're standing in the Q and I say to her. I hope you've not got the same as I had last week as it was agony and was limping like that for days.

Her reply


"Eh no. I limp all the time. I'm disabled!"

How much of a pr*ick did I feel! never assume Greedo, never assume

I had to chuckle at that...but, you may be surprised, she may not have been as offended as you think.

I once had a really lovely client who walked into my office one day with a cane...I asked if it was a weekend sporting injury and he said that he had advanced MS and had suffered ever since I'd known him (about a year) and long before.

He was really chuffed that i had never noticed any of his symptoms as he constantly felt "disabled" when he really didn't want to be perceived that way.

 

[dustystreet]

there seems to be a bit of a politically correct consensus that you should never mention someone's disability.

but i read somewhere that disabled people, for example, someone in a wheelchair, actually like someone to make the effort to talk to them about it, such as 'how did you end up in a wheelchair?'

personally, if i had been disabled and was in a wheelchair, i'd be glad if someone was interested enough to talk to me about it, rather than hiding behind a 'must pretend they are normal and not mention it' approach.

 

[RabbitFood]

very funny!!!!!

 

[jonny jeez]

there seems to be a bit of a politically correct consensus that you should never mention someone's disability.

but i read somewhere that disabled people, for example, someone in a wheelchair, actually like someone to make the effort to talk to them about it, such as 'how did you end up in a wheelchair?'

personally, if i had been disabled and was in a wheelchair, i'd be glad if someone was interested enough to talk to me about it, rather than hiding behind a 'must pretend they are normal and not mention it' approach.

+1

 

[ChrisKH]

there seems to be a bit of a politically correct consensus that you should never mention someone's disability.

but i read somewhere that disabled people, for example, someone in a wheelchair, actually like someone to make the effort to talk to them about it, such as 'how did you end up in a wheelchair?'

personally, if i had been disabled and was in a wheelchair, i'd be glad if someone was interested enough to talk to me about it, rather than hiding behind a 'must pretend they are normal and not mention it' approach.

Exactly. And this applies to any ailment or disability. I met a girl with Crohn's disease at a party a couple of years ago and as I counsel at the local hospital occasionally and was fully aware of the disease she admitted it was so nice to be able to talk about it without someone clamming up because it involved an otherwise unmentionable part of the human body (i.e. the bowel).

 

[Landslide]

How much of a pr*ick did I feel!

I dunno? How much? Did you carry on the conversation, or just clam up?
(Not trying to get at you here, just interested in your response.)

 

[Greedo]

I dunno? How much? Did you carry on the conversation, or just clam up?
(Not trying to get at you here, just interested in your response.)

Yeah I carried on talking to her. She actually sat with me as I bought her coffee. Just felt a bit rotten drawing attention to it. She was dressed really cool and very attractive so maybe she can be a bit self conscious abbout it, as no doubt some peanuts look at her saying Whooar!!! and then see her disability and don't bother chatting to her.

She's had a limp since she was a child. She just described it as a bit of a club foot but not as bad. She was a nice girl, funny and sharp as a tack. Studying law at Uni and just in town this morning for a bit of Christmas shopping. If I wasn't married and 10 years younger I'd have been in there I reckon

 

[BrumJim]

As far as I understand it, the important thing is that the person is more than their disability. So don't JUST talk about that - talk about stuff they really want to chat about.

And you having a dodgy knee for several months now is NOT the same as them having a chronic and disabling knee problem. You don't understand what they are going through.

 

[Fnaar]

How much of a pr*ick did I feel! never assume Greedo, never assume

Or did you feel a bit of a 'heel'? Or toe-tally out of order?

 

[Greedo]

Or did you feel a bit of a 'heel'? Or toe-tally out of order?

Born with a silver foot in my mouth!!!