Disability

I have been reflecting on last week's GBDOC tweet chat that was titled 'Diabetes and Disability'. This is always a really interesting subject because people have so many different opinions and ways in which they see themselves.

The Equality Act of 2010 protects people with Type 1 Diabetes in that it requires an employer to make reasonable adjustments for disabled employees or job applicants in the workplace. The purpose of Type 1 Diabetes being considered under the Equality Act is because it can and does affect us in some capacity at work, it has an impact on us 24/7. You could say that in some sense, we are "disadvantaged" in that we may need to take short breaks to treat a low blood sugar or take time off for hospital appointments, this can lead to discrimination because your employer may be more concerned about losing money with you having time off rather than your ability to actually do the job. However, there are still jobs that people with Type 1 Diabetes are not allowed to do, such as joining the Armed Forces or flying a commerical plane, this is because in any of these environments something like a low blood sugar can put people at risk or make you a liability, plus airline pilots need 20/20 vision and complications like Retinopathy jeapordise this.

The complications and symptoms that come with Type 1 Diabetes can be "disabling" in that they can have a significant impact on your day to day life. For example, the symptoms of high blood sugar can have an affect in that it they can make you feel too unwell to do things, likewise with low blood sugar. More severe physical impacts for both include DKA, passing out, seizures...all of which can leave you "less able" than a healthy person, although temporary, they're still impacting your ability. The more permanent affects of Type 1 Diabetes like kidney disease, blindness, and limb amputation are a bit of a different ball game, because then it's not just Type 1 Diabetes you've got, it's other health issues that are in and of themselves, disabling. 

Despite it being challenging, the GBDOC tweet chat confirmed that many people with Type 1 Diabetes, including me, do not consider themselves disabled. The Equality Act and due to the restrictions of some jobs, it can appear that this is the case, however, any 'limitations' we might encounter, only spur us on to prove people wrong and prove that our challenges can be overcome. Generally speaking, I am physically able and do not consider myself to be disabled in any capacity. I just think it's interesting to explore in what sense we are considered to be 'disabled'....

We have the capacity to do anything, except be a commercial airline pilot and join the army! Which is fine for me because I don't like flying and have no desire to join the army!