VIDEO: NI Parkinson's patients 'laughed at' and mistaken for drunks
Charities call for more awareness on World Parkinson's day
Last updated 11th Apr 2019
Some 91% of people with Parkinson’s in Northern Ireland feel harassed and discriminated against.
Those living with the condition say they've been laughed and pointed at, being mistaken for being drunk ot they are unfriendly.
The new figures released today by the charity Parkinson’s UK Northern Ireland reveal for the first time the shocking lack of public awareness around Parkinson’s and its symptoms despite it being the second most prevalent neurodegenerative condition after Alzheimer’s.
In a survey, people living with Parkinson’s in Northern Ireland said they’d had negative experiences as a result of people not understanding their symptoms.
Key figures for Northern Ireland showed:
• Over half (56%) have said that people don’t believe they have Parkinson’s
• Over a fifth (22%) said their less expressive facial expressions – an effect of the condition - had been misinterpreted as being unfriendly
• Almost a fifth (17%) said that their imbalance or slurred speech had been misinterpreted as drunkenness
• Over a quarter (26%) had been told they were ‘too young’ to have Parkinson’s
• Half (51%) had been told that they ‘don’t look ill’
• Over a quarter (27%) have felt or been judged for using a disabled parking space or toilet
The findings from Parkinson’s UK Northern Ireland also highlight the huge toll that public reactions can have on those living with the condition everyday - with 57% cancelling or avoiding social situations due to the negative impact of public perceptions.
Today on World Parkinson's Day (11 April 2019) the charity is launching Parkinson’s Is, a campaign to show the reality of life with Parkinson’s.
55-year-old Belfast man Patrick Crossan was diagnosed with Parkinson’s aged 50.
He said: “People still think I am too young to have the condition.
"They see it as an ‘older person’s disease’ and often just do not believe it can affect someone so young. Yet I am far from the only one.
"People don’t mean any harm, but when I tell them how it affects me they sometimes suggest I’m imagining it. This is partly because I don’t let it stop me doing what I want to do.
"But it has made some things, such as regular travel, more difficult, and some days are more difficult than others."
Parkinson’s UK wants to raise awareness among the public about the signs and symptoms.
Nicola Moore is the charity's Northern Ireland Director:
“People don’t fully understand what Parkinson’s is or how it affects people. The public doesn't think that Parkinson's is a serious condition. And people with Parkinson's have told us that they don't feel understood. The Parkinson’s Is campaign aims to change that.”
“We need everyone to recognise Parkinson's as the serious health condition it is, and the major impact it has on everyday life so that people with Parkinson’s do not continue to experience such appalling misunderstanding of their symptoms. We also want to show how, despite their symptoms, people with Parkinson's don’t let the condition hold them back from achieving the most incredible things.”