Back in October I updated on the ongoing fiasco regarding the concessionary travel pass that I’d been using since 2008. It expired in July this year, and despite my condition being the same, Transport for Greater Manchester are finding every possible excuse not to re-issue it, and the Disability team- mainly my colleague MR- are having to argue the toss with them.
TfGM are claiming that there’s a difference between a ‘Learning Difficulty’ and a ‘Learning Disability.’ Disability charity Mencap suggest this too, claiming a learning ‘difficulty’ does not affect intellect whereas a learning ‘disability’ does. Which, exactly, TfGM is not prepared to give travel passes to I didn’t manage to note down. This is a standard problem I face.
Contradicting this, Citizens’ Advice claims a disability is an ‘impairment (that) has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.’
Surely, then, a non-physical condition that adversely affects your day-to-day activities, and is related to your intellect, would be a disability too.
Regardless, my condition is short-term memory difficulties. So, you see the contradictions and the hairs being split in regards to me having a bus pass taken off me.
MR has passed the info to a psychologist, we’ll call her RB, to look into it. That was Monday.
Yesterday, I decided I’d pitch in myself, and got through to TfGM. I spoke to a worker there who put me on hold for 5 or so minutes. It transpired that TfGM had sent the LD team the wrong forms. The right ones are now being sent to my home. This should be such a simple issue to resolve. But, as usual, TfGM are making it 10 times more complicated than it needs to be.
Question is, do I share this post with other people, or wait to see who reads it?
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