What's your opinion about the hidden disability lanyard?

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^^ Why don't you see the need for that type of lanyard ?

I wear mine a lot at present as it's a good way of ensuring my "Face Covering Exempt" card is clearly displayed and I think the lanyard draws attention to the card.

I don't think I'll be using it long term though. I generally don't need assistance with things when I'm out and about and I've had a few supermarket workers speak to me as though I'm a small child, even when I've been wearing my railway uniform when I've stopped to get some shopping on the way home from work!

Well what does the Lanyard do? Like would law enforcement acknowledge it even? Just seems there have been a disturbing amount of people with mental conditions and/or disabilities that have been killed by police brutality, and so just not sure how much of a difference the Lanyard would make. Like would it have stopped the cops in my state, from murdering that young black man with autism, Elijah Mcclain?

Sorry to get dark about it but, that guy was doing nothing wrong...he was just an awkward autistic person and they murdered him, just don't know if a lanyard would have helped him.

The Hidden Disabilities Lanyard scheme started in the UK about four years ago and is now becoming quite widely recognised within the UK. I suspect it isn't much recognised outside of the UK except perhaps at international airports.

It's not something that was designed specifically for autistic people. It is for anyone with any type of disability that is not immediately obvious. It allows people to signal that they have a hidden disability and may require assistance with some things.

Many large businesses and organisations now recognise and support the scheme including the police. Wearing one doesn't confer any legal rights however. It just sends out a signal that the wearer has a hidden disability and may require some help.

That does make sense, just not sure if cops here in the U.S wold really take that into account when interacting with someone even if they did hand it to them. I mean well in case the world hasn't noticed we have a huge problem with police brutality in this country so I am skeptical that a lanyard like that would do much to help someone in a police encounter. As far as I know its not so bad in the U.K when it comes to that but I could be wrong on that.

I have more touch sensitivity around wearing a lanyard than I do around wearing a mask.

Eventually I just found a mask I'm comfortable wearing.

Apart from airports which I just avoid now, I've never had any other reason to wear one.

People don't like my dark glasses when I'm in a regular shop? They can learn to mind their own business.

They offered to send me one before I flew to London with my service dog but I didn't really see the point.

I'm opposed to such things. In a modern inclusive society there is no need for disabled people to wear special badges or similar. When I first heard about schemes like this I couldn't help but liken it to the Nazi's black triangles.

I was reading about that sunflower one a while back, and they say it is to 'discreetly indicate that you may need a little extra help'.

Firstly, it is not discreet if it is dangling around your neck in full view of everyone. Secondly, how is a shop worker supposed to tell the difference between a visually impaired person who needs assistance to locate a tin of beans, and an incontinent person who needs help to urgently find the disabled toilet?

If anyone harasses me into using one to publicise my disability, I will threaten to sue them for discrimination.

The shop worker can simply ask what help, if any, is needed. That's the point of the lanyard. Anybody wearing one is simply sending out the message that they have a hidden disability and may sometimes want additional help with something. It's not about publicising a particular disability.

If you don't have any use for such a scheme then simply ignore it. Nobody is going to harass you into using a lanyard. It's a purely voluntary scheme.

Personally I'm finding my lanyard quite useful in the current situation and I suspect I have avoided several potential confrontations in shops and on public transport as a result of wearing it in conjunction with my "Face Covering Exempt" card.

Equating the lanyard with the Nazi's black triangle is irresponsible, and rather mindless, hyperbole.

I think that such a lanyard is a good idea. Do they come in pea green?

Pea pod green is also a good colour.

I have mixed feelings about this type of thing to be honest.

If you don't work, and you're well known for being autistic and it is genuinely ok to have one because you do have to deal with quite a bit then yes, by all means a perfect idea.

If you work and you are like that anyway, and you literally have to tell your employer you are autistic because you're recognized by the government as someone who has this, that's fine.

However - if you work and you're more someone with Aspergers for example so you can blend pretty well and no one can ever tell you are autistic then no, not a good idea.

The reason I say this is because employers will use it against you, you should never tell an employer there is something wrong with you (especially if you are in a probationary period).

If you can't prove you have autism or you don't "look" autistic enough, don't bother saying anything to an employer because they, simply put, are bastards.

They will refer you to an internal company "psychiatrist", why you ask? Not to help you, no, but to sneakily find out what your weaknesses are so they can find grounds to terminate your employment contract on and tell you that sorry, no you are too "disabled" to work here.

This is a very real thing and happens a lot, so it depends where you fall on the spectrum to be even hinting at it let alone telling people in my experience.

I know the lanyard itself isn't specifically saying you have autism, but it only takes someone to put that and some of your behaviour together and bam, they have you sussed out.

Just be careful what you are doing with stuff like this is all I will say about it because I don't want anyone to get into unfair trouble/treatment like I have seen some of my friends go through.

Depends on how bad someone is effected by autism. It's one of those things that I think is a good idea for people with health problems that can suddenly pop up to the point of incapacitating them but for a regular aspie l'm undecided. If it's hidden I feel it'll be easier to tell someone instead should it be needed. If in plain sight then it'll help people with more severe autism.

I certainly don't consider myself 'severe' re the Asperger's/ASD. On the other hand I don't see it as being uniformly 'mild'. There's also the schizoaffective disorder to consider.

I am considering something along these lines but more of a list of instructions if I end up in a shutdown and there are people who think it is something else that has happened to me! The last thing I want while on the floor having a shutdown is someone trying to give me the kiss of life! Haha! (I actually fear being taken away to a hospital as it is the hardest place for me to recover from due to sensory issues).
A lanyard in itself may or may not help. It may work against me if I am in a shutdown and people are trying to ask what is wrong! But it may work for me if I am in a shop and security guards assume my being agitated and different, or my inability to make a decision to buy something or not looks to them suspicious, so I would rather they do ask and I can explain so I can avoid getting followed and made to feel unwelcome. (If I was a thief I would understand but as I do not steal from them it is a concern).

But just wearing something which indicates I have hidden issues may not help if I am on the floor in a shutdown.
Swings and roundabouts... Though knowing me I would be on the slide or rocking horse!