A SCHOOLGIRL'S campaign calling for signs on disabled toilets to be changed to reflect non-visible disabilities has won the support of Gwent's newest MP.
Grace Warnock, 14, who has Crohn's Disease, launched the Grace's Sign campaign after she was criticised for using disabled toilets as her condition is not visibly obvious.
The teenager, from East Lothian in Scotland, designed a new sign which reflects the accessibility of disabled toilets for anyone with a disability - not just those in wheelchairs - which is now in use at the Scottish Parliament, as well as in airports, football grounds and elsewhere.
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She has been praised by Theresa May for her work, and, speaking in Parliament earlier this week, Newport West MP Ruth Jones threw her support behind the campaign.
The Labour MP, a former physiotherapist, said: "The whole point of the development of a new sign - Grace’s Sign - is to be welcomed as a physical reminder that not all disabilities are visible, but also as a general encouragement to us all to not take people at face value.
"We need to have compassion and care for one another, as this sign reminds us."
Grace's Sign
Mrs Jones added she hoped the sign could be used more widely than just on toilets, such as for accessible parking, and that it would be available for people with learning difficulties.
"They do not want our sympathy, there is no need - they are getting on with their lives very well, thank you," she said. "What they need is our empathy and understanding.
"They may require extra help when accessing toilet facilities or a parking space for the family car close to the shops.
"These people look perfectly normal, whatever 'normal' may be. They can walk, but some days they may not want to walk for whatever reason.
"Those are times when Grace’s Sign would explain to the ordinary person that they need the extra space or help to ensure that they can get on with their lives."
Concluding, she said: "Sometimes people just need reminding to stop and think.
"They are not necessarily being unkind. Indeed, they may think they are protecting the person with genuine additional needs and stopping people using facilities inappropriately.
"They genuinely want to help people with disabilities, but they need to be gently reminded that not all disabilities are visible."
For more information on Grace's Sign visit
facebook.com/gracessign10
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