Not all disabilities can be seen. Not all disabilities are obvious. This can oftentimes present a problem if an individual is expected to present identification. Colorado has led the way for disability inclusion on its drivers’ licenses and state ID’s. There is an optional marker that can be put on these forms of identification to indicate that an individual has a disability. This move helps to normalize the disability community. Around 25% of Colorado’s population have a disability and 75% of those have an invisible disability.
The new markers became available in July after a new law in Colorado. There is no requirement due to worries about discrimination, so they are optional. There is a requirement for medical validation to get one.
The death of Elijah McClain, after an interaction with Aurora police and paramedics, was one. The injury by police in Loveland to Karen Garner, a woman who had a type of dementia, was another.
“People can’t tell, people don’t know. And yet, something’s wrong,” said Stainbrook. “Bad things … have happened when those situations have gone wrong.”
“Absolutely, yes,” said Rebecca Zickerman, about the idea of getting the marker on her license. She was involved in the push for it. A successful college student on a pre-med track, she gets through every day with a mild diagnosis of cerebral palsy.
Learn more at MSN.
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