I’ve had an interest in how people who don’t need them, react to reasonable adjustments under Equality Act for some time. Some people, let’s call them allies for the sake of argument, totally get what they are for and will actively look out for helpful anticipatory adjustments.

Then there are those who are largely indifferent. They occasionally might think they are a bit of a fuss about nothing, but generally will accept with them without any problem.

But then, you get the people who argue that they are completely unfair and make disability into an advantage, common in school circles but not only there.

Others still think most people who use them are lying about their needs to get ‘special treatment’ or to get out of doing something they just can’t be arsed doing.

Of those latter three groups, the common denominator is a seeming inability to put themselves in a non abled position and understand the EXTRA labour (physical, psychological, financial, practical) that adjustments are compensating for.

Just as an observation, it seems a whole lot of this is going on re the discussion about masks and exemptions. Can count on fingers and toes of four hundred humans how many times the word selfish appears with zero care for how that’s received.

Mainly, it seems because of the assumptions listed above. And ignoring the completely UNSELFISH work many disabled people are doing so they CAN wear masks even though it’s difficult or horrific for them.

But just to finish, people are not selfish for having different needs to those of others, or to need to make use of reasonable adjustments, and it is really, really upsetting to anyone, to keep being called selfish by people who know nothing about them.