Handicapped stall etiquette

[china mom]

I was in Disney two weekends ago and there was a line going into the ladies room. By the time I got into the door, there were about five women ahead of me waiting for empty stalls. I saw the handicapped stall was unoccupied and I asked the woman in front of me if she was gong to take it when she said "no", I jumped on in. There was nary a handicapped person in sight.

So, what is your opinion about handicapped stalls/ And if you feel that they are reserved for handicapped only, how handicapped does a person need to be? I will wait for a handicapped stall to open up and use it instead of a regular stall due to bad knees. I just can't get up off the lower toilets anymore and need the handrails. But, I am otherwise able bodied.

 

[Hikergirl]

I view them as being equipped for a handicapped person but available for everyone.
I would have done the same thing you did, and I don't have bad knees.

 

[Moliphino]

I'll use it if it's the only stall open, but only then.

 

[RamblingMad]

If they’re open, I use them unless there is a handicap person that needs it first.

 

[Tinkerbell58]

They are handicap accessible, not handicap exclusive.

 

[DisneyElite4]

I was in Disney two weekends ago and there was a line going into the ladies room. By the time I got into the door, there were about five women ahead of me waiting for empty stalls. I saw the handicapped stall was unoccupied and I asked the woman in front of me if she was gong to take it when she said "no", I jumped on in. There was nary a handicapped person in sight.

So, what is your opinion about handicapped stalls/ And if you feel that they are reserved for handicapped only, how handicapped does a person need to be? I will wait for a handicapped stall to open up and use it instead of a regular stall due to bad knees. I just can't get up off the lower toilets anymore and need the handrails. But, I am otherwise able bodied.

For the record, OP, I do not think you are implying that handicapped stalls are only for those in wheelchairs, this is just a soapbox issue of mine and I wanted to comment on it.

Many, many types of people need to use handicapped stalls in public restrooms, and many, many of these people are not in wheelchairs. For example, there are lots of special needs and/or disabled children and adults who need a companion to go into the restroom with them. They may need assistance while in a stall, and the bigger a person gets, the harder it is to accommodate that assistance in a regular bathroom stall. We have a family member who requires assistance from a loved one in the bathroom, and we almost always use the handicapped stall when we are assisting them – I cannot tell you how often we get looks and ugly comments. This beloved family member does not appear disabled in any way, but simply cannot manage their bathroom needs 100 percent on their own. Especially out in public.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

They are handicap accessible, not handicap exclusive.

I like this. My thoughts, exactly.

 

[L&Lfan]

I used one today in the Caribbean Beach Lobby. The men’s stalls were occupied; the handicapped room was empty. I was in and out in 5 minutes.

 

[bcla]

If you need to go, then go. I've used one to change diapers (used medical pads on the floor) because there was no changing table. If that's what available, then by all means. It's not a disabled parking space. Of course don't hog it like that skit from In Living Color where Handi-Man rips open a disabled stall and finds someone camped out there watching a TV while someone in a wheelchair is waiting and has to go.

In fact I've heard disability activists says that certain features useful for the disabled are more dignified when they're widely used by the general public. Things like curb cutouts or bus lifts that can be used by families with strollers. Or elevators.

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

The problem is, what if a person without a disability is using the loo and then a person with a disability arrives urgently needing to use the loo? Or maybe a gentleman with a prostrate problem arrives or a lady with stress incontinence and urgently, like absolutely cannot hold on. I think that loos designated for people with disabilities should, at the very least, be as exclusively for the use of people with a disability and medical conditions meaning ‘when you got to go, you got to go’, as the ‘gents’ are for men and the ‘ladies’ are for ladies.

 

[Christine]

The problem is, what if a person without a disability is using the loo and then a person with a disability arrives urgently needing to use the loo? Or maybe a gentleman with a prostrate problem arrives or a lady with stress incontinence and urgently, like absolutely cannot hold on. I think that loos designated for people with disabilities should, at the very least, be as exclusively for the use of people with a disability and medical conditions meaning ‘when you got to go, you got to go’, as the ‘gents’ are for men and the ‘ladies’ are for ladies.

You might think that, but you would be incorrect. The stalls were never built to accommodate people with various urinary issues. I mean men with prostate issues or women with stress incontinence would not fit the definition of handicapped. They are meant to provide a stall large enough to allow wheelchair access and grab bars for stability. Nothing more.

 

[maxiesmom]

The problem is, what if a person without a disability is using the loo and then a person with a disability arrives urgently needing to use the loo? Or maybe a gentleman with a prostrate problem arrives or a lady with stress incontinence and urgently, like absolutely cannot hold on. I think that loos designated for people with disabilities should, at the very least, be as exclusively for the use of people with a disability and medical conditions meaning ‘when you got to go, you got to go’, as the ‘gents’ are for men and the ‘ladies’ are for ladies.

But where would you draw the line at who needs it then? I have started to use those stalls if they are open because there are times where my knees and me struggle to get seated without a bar to grab on. Am I not entitled to use them, because I don't have an urgent need to go? I should just suffer wondering how much pain it will cause me to lever myself back up?

The fact is, the stalls are not viewed in the same way as a handicapped parking spot. They are not only for the use of the handicapped and to be left open for them.

 

[Disneylover99]

The problem is, what if a person without a disability is using the loo and then a person with a disability arrives urgently needing to use the loo? Or maybe a gentleman with a prostrate problem arrives or a lady with stress incontinence and urgently, like absolutely cannot hold on. I think that loos designated for people with disabilities should, at the very least, be as exclusively for the use of people with a disability and medical conditions meaning ‘when you got to go, you got to go’, as the ‘gents’ are for men and the ‘ladies’ are for ladies.

They wait or go into another washroom if possible. The same thing they would need to do if there was someone in a wheelchair in the handicapped washroom.

 

[wgeo]

I will use one if there is no other stall is available and I will vacate it as soon as possible. By that I mean, a number of these stalls now have sinks located in them as well. I will never take the time to wash my hands inside the stall, I will leave it in case someone else has arrived who needs the accomodations that the stall offers and I will wash my hands in the main area.

 

[skyblue17]

I think this varies on the situation.

If you're in a bathroom that only has, say, three stalls and one is handicapped, I think it's fine to use it if the other two are taken, but to be mindful that someone who needs to use it might arrive.

If in a large bathroom setting, like in a concert venue, or Disney, or a ballpark or something of the like, I usually hesitate to use the handicapped stall because turnover of the others stalls is usually quick, and it's more likely that a person who needs to use it will join the line while I'm in there.

I would never go into the handicapped stall if any other stalls are open.

All this said, I don't think I've ever witnessed a situation where a handicapped stall was occupied and a person arrived that could not wait the minute or so needed for it to become available again. My guess is that in most cases, if the handicapped stall is occupied by an able-bodied person, it is open again pretty quickly.

 

[Disneylover99]

I will use one if there is no other stall is available and I will vacate it as soon as possible. By that I mean, a number of these stalls now have sinks located in them as well. I will never take the time to wash my hands inside the stall, I will leave it in case someone else has arrived who needs the accomodations that the stall offers and I will wash my hands in the main area.

Yes. I do that too.

 

[Searc]

The problem is, what if a person without a disability is using the loo and then a person with a disability arrives urgently needing to use the loo? Or maybe a gentleman with a prostrate problem arrives or a lady with stress incontinence and urgently, like absolutely cannot hold on. I think that loos designated for people with disabilities should, at the very least, be as exclusively for the use of people with a disability and medical conditions meaning ‘when you got to go, you got to go’, as the ‘gents’ are for men and the ‘ladies’ are for ladies.

That isn't a disability and they can use any restroom available.

 

[StarGirl11]

I honestly don’t mind when people use it usually my illness is invisible if I’m not traveling with my walker or cane. What I do mind is when I run into ‘stall hogs’ as I call them. People almost always at airports who are using it for things like changing clothes. And use it for excessive amounts of time.

I had this happen at Orlando Airport this last year. Lady decided to take 20 minutes in the single handicapped stall to do her makeup and change clothes (I saw the suitcase open at one point it was clear what she was doing). She knew I was there I let my presence be known. She knew I was waiting. And she knew because I said this on the phone to my Mom that the nearest restroom that was open was clear at the opposite end of the concourse in the main terminal.

So yeah use it if no one else is. But for the love of all that is holy please don’t hold it from people who actually need it. I can’t fit my rollator in a normal stall. Though I wish I could. I don’t use the handicapped stalls because I want to I use them because I need to.

 

[gtpoohbear]

I don't think it is practical to leave a handicapped stall open all of the time, on the off chance that someone who needs it will come in. Some restrooms only have 2-3 stalls, with one being handicapped. That's too large of a percentage to not be getting significant use out of, especially if there is a line. If someone farther back in the line obviously needs it, I think it is polite to offer it to them before their turn, but otherwise it should be treated as a normal stall. If someone who must have it needs to wait for the person who is there, that's not the end of the world. I have to wait all the time. If someone is truly having an emergency, I think the burden is on them to communicate that to the line, and hopefully the other women would be understanding and let them cut to the front.

Also, many time the changing table is in the handicapped stall. I remember many instances of having to wait until it was available to change a diaper, but I certainly wouldn't have expected special treatment, or a jump ahead in line.

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

That isn't a disability and they can use any restroom available.

Yes and to be honest after I posted, I thought, what about young children who sometimes only announce that they need the loo, when they are really desperate. A conundrum indeed. Fast passes for loos?