I find these statistics very surprising - re Disabled people

So blindness, caused by degenerative macular disease, is not a disability? Well, well.

And the permanent loss of fine motor control plus speech defects caused by a road accident twenty-six years ago isn't classed as sufficiently disabling to be counted? Well, well again.

People are very dismissive, it seems, when they haven't these little nuisances in their own lives.

tbags - who dismissed blindness or road accident injuries as 'nuisances' ?
I was merely (and wonder why I am being attacked) pointing out that the statistics that over half of pensioners are disabled when most of what they are suffering from is aging for which there is medical intervention which enables them to live as near a full life as possible
how did I know you knew so many disabled pensioners that match up to the %age - I certainly don't

I'm not attacking anyone. I suppose I could be said to be attacking arguing with what seems to be a common point of view. So my point, still, is that there are a lot of invisible disabilities that medical intervention can do nothing about. The fact that some, or even many, of them are age related does not reduce their effect on the people who have them. That's all I'm saying.

The person with the damaged motor control is not a pensioner.

I thought this thread would be about this.

www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jun/24/disability-campaigners-clash-with-police-inside-commons-over-benefit-cuts

Petra is right, supermarkets disabled parking spaces do not require permission, you can use them, but ethically you should not, unless you have a problem walking for some reason.If you have a blue badge, you can park anywhere, even on double yellow lines in roads.Not on red lines though.So, you don't have to drive around looking for a disabled bay to park in.
Guidelines on what is classed as disabled have changed over the years, logically, there can't be a massive increase in disabled people, so it must be the rules that have changed in order to call yourself disabled.

I do not think anyone is disagreeing with you Thatbags. All I and some others are saying is that the figures seem very high and do not accord with our experience.

There is a difference between having a disability (like DD) and being disabled, which she is not. I am dyspraxic, which is often defined as a disability and can be disabling if it is severe. But my poor fine motor control and poor balance, which, for example, makes riding a bike possible but problematic and would definitely preclude me from tight rope walking is never going to be disabling or leave me in need of extra help or assistance, unless, of course, I take up tight rope walking

Good post flickety. My surprise at the figures is because I would have thought a higher percentage of people over 65 are still hale and hearty, despite their bodies showing the signs of age.

I don't have any disabilities, but I don't always feel hale or especially hearty

I've got enough long-term health conditions to make up for you, Anya.

dpac.uk.net/

This will tell you about disability, and why the group were lobbying parliament today.

Yes, flickety, the difference between a person having a disability, or several, is not the same as being a disabled person, though it could be a very subtle difference at times, or even no difference at all. It is not clear from the OP whether that distinction was made in the statistics given.

I would not call the fact that, on average, old people need more medical care than young people a 'drain' on the NHS; I would just call that a fact of life and something government needs to take into consideration when applying funding.

I sometimes use old-fashioned expressions! I looked up the meaning of "hale and hearty" and it means free from infirmities or in very good health. Sounds good to me

PS, flickety, I think your tight rope walking analogy is silly. Posts on this thread have been about ordinary disabilities that badly affect ordinary everyday life.

It's really a bit "scoffy". Just saying.

These statistics sound ridiculous and could be based on questions devised by a 25 year old and interpreted like this:
Can you run a mile?
Are your sight and hearing 100% ?
Can you remember what you had for dinner on 3rd December?
Have you taken any medicine in the past 30 days?
Ok, you're disabled but don't expect any help because this country's broke.
My cynicism is based on being told I was "inactive" by a health professional because I don't go to a gym.

That's written me off thenapricot along with 99% of the population!

"By 2020 it is estimated that nearly 60% of people over 50 will have a long-term health condition."

How many of us had a long-term health condition when we reached 50?

I did.

I didn't.

At least we're still here!

But not necessarilly all here!

My husband, who died last year, had a blue badge. He had been ill for 10 years with a bone marrow disease that required regular blood and platelet infusions, was registered blind and had kidney failure. His mobility was seriously impaired and he had early onset dementia. When I took him out in the car we were constantly challenged by people demanding to know if we were entitled to park in a disabled space , even outside our own house. Unless one's disability is immediately visible people are very quick to judge.

Bamm

I wonder if some people think disabled parking is only for people in wheelchairs or on crutches?