“MND affects up to 5,000 adults in the UK at any one time.” – MNDA
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World MND Awareness Day is a day in which people come together to raise awareness around Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and the impacts the condition can have on both a person’s mental & physical health.
“Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is an uncommon condition that affects the brain and nerves. It causes weakness that gets worse over time.
“There’s no cure for MND, but there are treatments to help reduce the impact it has on a person’s daily life. Some people live with the condition for many years.”
The National Health Service
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Motor Neurone Disease & The Access Card
Here at The Access Card, we support many cardholders to help them discreetly communicate the barriers they might face when out and about or visiting shows, events or tourist destinations and have provided some more information about some of the typical access requirements we have processed.
Everyone is different and experiences their needs in different ways, but here are some examples based on our experience.
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Standing & Queuing
Whether you have difficulty with physically being in a queue for a significant period of time, difficulty with the concept of queuing, or have difficulty with being in a queue/ crowded spaces, the ‘Standing & Queuing’ symbol can be added to your Access Card to help communicate this access requirement.
Different providers have their own ways of accommodating this access requirement.
For example, Legoland Windsor Resort accepts Access Cards with the ‘Standing & Queuing’ symbol as proof for a Ride Access Pass.
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What is a Ride Access Pass?
“A Ride Access Pass is a virtual queuing system designed to make reasonable adjustments to assist guests who do not understand the concept of queuing, have a physical disability that prevents them standing for extended periods of time or permanently non-ambulant guests.”
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Level Access
The ‘Level Access’ symbol is not just available to wheelchair users, but also to people who find accessing stairs impossible or require additional space in order to feel more comfortable in a venue’s environment.
Different providers have different systems in place to facilitate this access requirement.
For example, Glastonbury Festival offers viewing platforms at all the main stages. Customers requiring access to these platforms will require a Viewing Platform (VP) pass. For more information, please visit the festival’s website.
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Access to Toilets
If you require urgent access to the toilet because of your health condition, e.g. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) or incontinence, we have the ‘WC’ symbol. This symbol discreetly communicates this access requirement with different providers.
Urgent access to the toilet is a different access requirement to a general need to use an accessible toilet and therefore the ‘WC’ symbol cannot be awarded for the latter. If you would like more information about this, please speak to a member of our team.
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Distances
For people who would have significant difficulty with walking/ self-propelling a wheelchair for more than a short distance, we have the ‘distances’ symbol to communicate this access requirement with different providers.
Different providers have their own ways of accommodating this access requirement.
For example, Greenbelt Festival offers taxi-buggies from the Box Office down to the Festival Village entrance. In addition, there is a closer and more accessible camp located close to the Festival Village entrance.
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Essential Companions
For those that require a substantial amount of support from another person when out & about, we have the ‘+1’ symbol which indicates to providers that you would need a substantial amount of support to be able to access their facilities.
Different providers have different systems in place to facilitate this access requirement.
For example, Cadbury World accepts Access Cards with the ‘+1’ symbol as proof for a free essential companion ticket.
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Additional Access Requirements
The ‘Additional Access Requirements’ symbol is used to indicate that you have additional access requirements that haven’t already been covered by the other symbols & you can communicate these access requirements with different venues & attractions.
A lot of venues & attractions will include additional information about their events/services on their website. This may include information about the use of strobe lighting & smoke machines during performances. Please refer to each venue’s website for this information.
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Mask Exemption
More recently, throughout COVID, we have had a number of people whose needs mean that they are either unable to put on, wear or remove a face covering, or that they can feel distressed when wearing a face covering or that they are with someone who requires lip-reading to communicate, and as a response to feedback from our members, we now have an additional face mask symbol for those that need it.
There are a number of face mask exemption cards and certificates available in the UK, but we are the only face mask exemption card that offers verification of your exemption.
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Thinking of applying for a Card?
If you think the above would be useful for you and would like to apply for your Access Card you can do so quickly and easily by completing our short online application form and uploading some supporting information confirming your needs.
All applications received from people who have Motor Neurone Disease during World MND Awareness Day 2021 (21st June 2021) can use the discount code ‘MNDday21’ to get £5 off a three-year Access Card.
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Further Sources of Information, Advice, and Support
Check out our full directory for how these symbols apply at over 1,000 venues in the UK and beyond.
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MND Association
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“The MND Association focuses on improving access to care, research and campaigning for those people living with or affected by MND in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.”
MND Association
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Tel: 0808 802 6262
Web: www.mndassociation.org
Email: mndconnect@mndassociation.org
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MND Scotland
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“MND Scotland is the leading Scottish charity providing care and support to people affected by MND, as well as funding research into finding a cure.”
MND Scotland
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Tel: 0141 332 3903
Web: www.mndscotland.org.uk
Email: info@mndscotland.org.uk
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