I just saw the promo for tomorrow night's TV show What Would You Do? that airs on ABC. The clip I saw was of someone using one of those electric carts you find in grocery and other stores for people that have difficulty walking.

The clip implied the person using the cart was NOT disabled and should NOT be using the cart. My first thought was How does anyone know just by looking at someone that they are NOT disabled? Many of us on NT have "invisible" disabilities. Can a total stranger SEE if we have nerve pain that makes it impossible for us to walk through a store? Does the fact that we can stand to reach an item on a shelf make us capable of walking through a store?

From a clip of only a few mere seconds, I have no idea of what the show will depict but thought it might be of interest to those here that use the carts or just have a disability that is not obvious to a passerby.

I have never seen the show before but I will try to watch it tomorrow night.

Just wanted to let others know in case they were interested in watching.

Hi hopeless,

Just read this thread. Did you watch the show?

I agree-you can't always tell by looking. I could actually use a motorized chair in those large stores-walking can be excruciating-but I refuse to because I don't want to give up any ground to my diseases. But if I ever did use that chair, I'm sure I would get those looks as I got up to get items.

We need more empathy in our society--and a lot more manners. It sure would make shopping a whole lot more pleasant.

I've seen a bit of this show, but not this episode you mention.
That show can be very interesting.

I think if you are worried about PNers or autoimmune people being accosted (or those with invisible problems-- like heart, etc), just putting your cane or walking stick in the basket would alleviate that potential.

I use my red hiking pole in public now, and get much more positive attention and even some help because of it. I was mostly ignored just limping around. Right now I have a huge pain flare in my knee (no swelling or redness) which I think is nerve related. So I have been using the pole even in the house.

We went to WalMart yesterday and the pole was very handy when I didn't have a basket to push. Some people and even employees suggest I use the electric scooters...but you know my doctor said walking whenever possible is therapeutic and so I try that as much as possible. Sometimes I sit and rest a bit at the fitting rooms because Super WalMart is so huge and tires me out. Hubby will take me so after a huge shopping trip I don't have to brave the parking lot. He brings the car around for me. Heat and sun make it more difficult for me when I am tired out, to walk well.

IMO I have never seen anyone in an electric scooter having a problem with the public being non receptive to its use.

I'll be interested in other replies to this post, though. Thanks for bringing up this topic.

I've never seen anyone who is riding the electric cart have a problem with the public. They are there for anyone who needs them whether their disability is evident or not.

I have used them on occasion. However, I found that reaching for something is next to impossible so you have to get off and reach it be it high or low. A customer helped me a time or two. They asked me first if I wanted a little help and I took him up on it.

For a long time now I have just used the shopping cart. My husband takes ahold of it at the side of the front when there gets to be a number of things in the cart. It just gets to be way too much for me to push it around by myself if I have lots of stuff in there heavy or not. That screws my back up as well.

I also do not walk the whole store. Just where I must go.

I have seen bad reactions to people using the scooters, but it's probably because of the area I live in--the shoppers are particularly rude, especially in Wal-Mart. We always help whenever we see a user in need. It's good to hear that this is not a common problem.

Fortunately I don't have to use a cane or walking stick...yet. But I definitely have to use the cart in order to make it around any store we go in. I actually don't go shopping very often because of the discomfort walking such distances causes-my husband does the shopping 90% of the time. I hate it, but it's just the way it is.

I can't find the time that the show will air in my region. It will either come on in 7 minutes, and hour and 7 minutes, or two hours and 7 minutes. I will keep checking and post comments after I see it.

It just occurred to me that these are all actors who do this. They just see what people will do if anything. So in that respect, who really knows. JMO

Just watched it. Interesting. I never question anybody to find out if they are really handicapped. And I've never seen anybody riding those electric carts ask for any kind of help. Maybe it's just where I live. Also, I help able bodied people even if I am handicapped.

However, her parking in a handicapped spot is ridiculous. There is a fine - it varies from state to state as to the amount - if you park in the spot without a handicapped sticker which you hang on your rear view mirror. And it better be your own and not borrowed from someone else. Or, you have a handicapped license plate. So that part is really ridiculous IMO.

And then you can be going around the store pushing your cart and you best look out for some other people who would just as soon run into you as look at you. They are very rude and do not seem to care. They do this to anybody. It is sickening.

Another thing: you cannot get that much into the basket on those electric carts. So if you are shopping for lots of stuff - big items too - you are just plain out of luck. They might be handy but not all that handy.

And you really do not know what you would do unless you were in the moment. This is true about a lot things.

I was not at all familiar with the show and had never seen it before last night. The promo clip was so brief and very misleading to people not familiar with the show. I was very surprised it was not anything as I had expected.

The statement that preceded the enactment was that many NON-disabled / handicapped people USE various methods to get "special" treatment, specifically designed and designated for the handicapped, such as closer parking, avoiding wait times and long lines, etc.

Does this type of thing really happen often in reality? I believe that the handicapped parking is frequently abused but I would be really surprised to learn that the motorized carts were being abused. Or that people use wheelchairs as a scam to get to the head of a line.

Something I just learned recently about handicap parking............ in my region of the USA, there are two types of handicap parking. One just says Handicapped, and the other signage states Handicapped with Van Accessible beneath it. An elderly friend of mine told me he got a ticket for parking in a handicap spot. I was shocked. I said, Don't you have a handicap license plate on your car? (Not the tag that hangs from your rear view mirror.) Yes, he does, but he drives a CAR and had parked in a "Van accessible" spot. You MUST be in a van to park in THAT spot. That was news to me. I previously thought you were allowed to park in ANY designated handicap spot as long as you had a valid handicap plate or tag.

Well, I am sorry if I misdirected anyone to watching the show under my impression of what was to be depicted.

Be careful where you park. You could be ticketed when you believe you are entitled to that spot. My friend learned that lesson with much expense.

"Van accessible" is O.K. where I'm from. Anyone with a handicapped placard or handicapped license plate can park there whether they have a van or a car. However, if it says Handicapped parking "Van Only" then you cannot. I also know that someone was ticketed when they parked a car in that spot even with the placard, etc.

As far as that show goes, I have seen it before. Not really impressed with it so I do not watch it that often. However, last night I made a special effort to watch that segment. I would guess that sometimes the carts are abused by people who do not need them. But I would never question them. You really can't tell what might be wrong with those people.

I think I have seen an episode of that show once before and it was interesting. I think the one I saw was they were doing child abduction to see if anyone would step in to stop it.