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Child
Mom, can you tell me a story?
Mom
Sure. Once upon a time, a mom needed a new car.
Child
Was she brave?
Mom
She was tired mostly. But she went to Carvana.com and found a great car at a great price. No secret treasure map required.
Child
Did you have to fight a dragon?
Mom
Nope. She bought it 100% online from her bed, actually.
Child
Was it scary?
Mom
Honey, it was as unscary as car buying could be.
Child
Did the car have a sunroof?
Mom
It did, actually.
Child
Okay, good story.
Mom
Car buying. You'll want to tell stories about. Buy your car today on Carvana. Delivery fees may apply.
Host 1
Oh, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot. Topic. Hello and welcome to the new spicy hot topic.
Host 2
Super parking Mad Britons with ADHD shouldn't automatically get blue badges. The Transport Secretary blasts amid fear scheme is being exploited.
Host 1
What a dumbass headline.
Host 2
So, yeah, this is an article which is in the sun in the uk. You will probably have never heard us discuss the Sun. Please don't buy the Sun. Please. But I will say I had to. We've got to talk about this.
Host 1
Well, actually it was in the Telegraph, but I couldn't access the Telegraph because it was behind a bloody paywall. Oh. So I was like, well, this is the only way I could actually read the article that I want to read is by having to go to the scum. I mean, the Sun.
Host 2
Yeah, don't read the Sun. But anyway, we're gonna unfortunately read you an article from the Sun. Here we go. Brits with ADHD shouldn't automatically get blue badges, says the Transport Secretary. As fears grow about the scheme exploited, the number of blue badges being handed out for hidden conditions, including ADHD and anxiety, has trebled in just a few years. The secretary, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, told the Telegraph that a diagnosis of ADHD alone should not get you a blue badge. Each application is assessed on its own merits, with local councils making decisions based on medical evidence. They added that the blue badge was a vital lifeline for disabled people and warned those abusing the scheme that it is a criminal offence and undermines the support for the people this scheme is there to help. That's why local authorities have robust powers to investigate suspected abuse and take appropriate enforcement action when necessary. So blue badges give you accessibility parking. I'm not sure if they have this in the us. I'm not sure what they have, but this obviously is very important to people, but apparently not to us, dude. Well,
Host 1
as usual, it's. It's our right left wing government going through the disabled, but.
Host 2
But apparently we aren't Disabled enough.
Host 1
Yes. Well, here we go again. Now, have I thought about getting a blue badge with the anxiety that I have with parking? Fleetingly, I think it sort of crossed my mind. But, you know, I thought about it and went, well, can I cope without it? Because if I'm. If I'm parked in a disabled space and I have a blue badge,
Host 2
am
Host 1
I taking that space away from someone who needs it more than me? Yeah, because it's not like, oh, I, If I, if you claim benefits for disability, you're. You're taking away those benefits from other people. That, that's not what's happening. You don't take benefits away and give them to someone else. Everyone's entitled to Pip. If, if I went for Pip, I wouldn't feel guilty that I'm taking it away from someone else, but if I actually park in a disabled bay, then I'm technically taking that away from someone else. So I myself was like, no, no, I'm not. I mean, I've had physical disabilities, but for me, my physical disabilities, if they're that bad. I don't drive. Yeah, I mean, it's quite that simple. If I, if I can barely walk, I certainly don't drive. Seen a lot of people that can barely walk driving cars kind of worries me. I, I don't know enough about it, but I certainly wouldn't drive if, If I can't barely walk. But that's not the point. The point is, if I have someone in my household and I'm driving them, then I need a disabled parking space for them.
Host 2
Or if I was driving my nana, who used to require a wheelchair to go out and things like that, we used to go out with her blue badge in our car. But I agree with you, it feel a parking space for me feels different than a disabled toilet or a disabled changing room in a, in a clothes store, because I much prefer those spaces. I just do like knowing that I can go and use a disabled toilet and not go into one that's got other people. Like, it just stops me feeling disabled. But I don't necessarily feel like that about car parking spaces. But I can understand as to why some autistic people or some ADHD neurodivergent people would. But let's just read more of the article because you will fucking hate the wording of this, my friend. Councils across England issued 55,000 of the coveted parking permits for so called hidden disabilities last year, up from 18,000 in 2021. The surge has set alarm bells ringing among critics who fear the scheme is being stretched far beyond its original purpose. The spike comes after landmark rule changes in 2019 for the first time, allowed people with non visible or hidden disabilities to apply for a blue badge. The reforms were widely praised for widening access to those living with dementia, Parkinson's disease and arthritis. However, they are quietly extending eligibility to individuals with anxiety, ADHD and other less visible mental health conditions, a change that has since drawn significant criticism from those who argue the system is being abused. With over 3.07 million people in England now holding a blue badge, 5.2% of the entire population and up 8% in a single year, pressure on the system is intensifying.
Host 1
I'm, I'm still reeling from so called. Yeah, the so called hidden disabilities. They're not so called, they're just called you. Honestly, the disrespect we get just for existing.
Host 2
Yeah, it's wild.
Host 1
And not like actively showing how disabled we are. We should just randomly fall on the ground and wriggle like a worm every now and again and be like, oh, look, look, look, look at me, I am disabled. It's, it's ridiculous. It's almost like we, we, we, we have to, it has to be visible. This is, this is also my problem with the whole disability parking thing, is that it, it, it and disabled in general is literally a person in a wheelchair. And I'm like, there is so many disabilities just have a universal sign for disabilities that isn't showing one. It's the equivalent of trying to say all disabilities and showing somebody wearing sunglasses and a cane and going, oh, blind people are disabled. Yes, blind people are disabled. Wheelchair people are disabled. Well, first of all, they're not wheelchair people, they're people in wheelchairs. And sometimes those people who sit in wheelchairs don't always need to, because sometimes they have those wheelchairs for when they become. It's too much.
Host 2
People just don't like other people having special treatment. That's, that's what this feels like it comes down to, because it will go on. I'll just read a little bit more at the end of the article because I want you to read some, I want to read you some of the comments of what people have put underneath. Blue badges allow holders, whether driver or passenger, to park close to their destination, pull up on double yellow lines for up to three hours, which is the, our system in the UK of saying, you can't park here. And in many cases dodge congestion zone charges and road tolls. Oh, no, you're not paying. The blue badge scheme is overseen by the Department for Transport. But it's individual councils that decide whether to approve each application, meaning acceptance rates can vary significantly depending on where you live. Now, I'm going to ask you this as a blunt question, mate. How often do you see people parking in disabled spaces that don't have blue badges?
Host 1
Oh, like, literally all the time.
Host 2
Every single time I go to that shopping center near where I live, dude, there is somebody parked in the disabled space that just shouldn't be there.
Host 1
Yeah, Every single time. I just have a general issue with people parking. I mean, people just are just terrible. There's literally a space outside my gym that says MC's parking only, motorcycle parking only. Every single time I go there, there is a Audi there and it's not the same Audi. It's. There's always a fucking Audi or a BMW, because those people are assholes. Assholes.
Host 2
Some of you are. All right.
Host 1
No, I have friends with BMWs and they're assholes. Founding a BMW. Now, I. I don't understand it. It says MC's only on it and they're like, because it's a bigger space, because you meant to be able to park a couple of motorbikes in there. They're just like, I'm going to go in there because I don't want anyone touching my car. And that's it for me. If anybody is cheating. This system for parking is, one, to save money and two, because they don't want someone hitting their car with the doors. Now, my. My thing is, parking spaces in the UK are far too small.
Host 2
Yep, they are, yeah.
Host 1
Far too small. So many times you're squeezing in and most people, like, have bigger cars, bigger families.
Host 2
You couldn't have a pickup truck in this country. No way. Never get it.
Host 1
I mean, people do. And they also park in disabled spaces. Literally. One, the other day I was. I went to Marks and Spencer's garage, literally the other day, and there was loads of free spaces. This guy's parked in the disabled bay. No blue badge. He didn't look disabled. I don't know if he was, but I certainly was like, no, you've parked there because you have a massive monster truck. So maybe. I mean, they're not going to just suddenly make loads of spaces bigger. But I'm. I, I know it sounds like I'm against people getting these badges. I'm not. And I'm certainly not against people who have severe anxiety when it comes to parking. My thing is, if you're the driver and you need a blue badge because you have too much anxiety, parking that's worrying in general for you. Driving?
Host 2
Yeah, no, no, because I'm in that.
Host 1
Parking is just part of driving. So if you are a very, very nervous driver, you're more likely to make mistakes. But if this eases that and it makes it more accessible so you can go out and actually have a better time and a better life and go to places where you, you had previously were like, I don't want to go to there because I'm worried about parking. And this actually provides a lifeline for you to be able to go somewhere then. Yeah, you absolutely deserve this badge. So it's, it's what annoys me is like the blanket of all these people with ADHD are getting these badges and they don't need them. That is absolutely insane because as we know, they love to talk about adhd. But I have done some investigations. So I decided to apply for a blue badge last night. Not to go through with it, but just to look at the process right with, with it in line with, you know, anxiety being, being the main reason. And it asked me question after question after question. You know, why do you need to park closer? What sort of levels of anxiety, what do you do? And I had to fill all these questions in, question after question after question. It wasn't. Press a button. Yeah, I've got adhd, I've got anxiety send. They wanted proof from a doctor, they wanted proof of my diagnosis, they wanted a whole bunch of things. This was not an easy process just to go through. Now like I said, I haven't completed it, I've left it undone. But I filled it all in as best I could without like actual proof of things because I was like, well, now I have to go and do all of that. So for me, if someone goes especially neurodivergent person actually gets over that procrastination hump that we were talking about yesterday to fill all these forms out to actually go through this process which is incredibly anxiety driven. Anyway, there's a bloody good reason they're probably doing it.
Host 2
Yeah, no, I agree.
Host 1
So I, I would say that, that, that the majority of people with severe anxiety and adhd, they love say adhd, but it's obviously autistic people as well because they're not, they're not putting autistic. And do you know why they're not putting autistic in this article?
Host 2
Oh, tell me my friend, why?
Host 1
Because everybody knows that, that if someone's like, oh, autistic people shouldn't do that. They're like, no, no, autistic People definitely disabled, but ADHD people. Oh, that's, no, that's that quirky one that people do tiktoks of they don't need parking blue badges, do they?
Host 2
They can dance.
Host 1
They deliberately put ADHD and anxiety because those two things are not taken seriously enough. And they deliberately avoided putting autism or dyspraxia or, or anything like those other hidden disabilities or the so called hidden disabilities. They deliberately avoided those because people know that that is far more likely not to get clickbait. Autistic dyspraxic people need blue badges. Everyone's like yeah, that makes sense, that totally makes sense. But they're like, no, it's the ADHD people. I'm telling you right now. The reason why that's bullshit is because when I filled that in, there is not a button for adhd, autism, anxiety, dyspraxia. It literally says do you have any hidden conditions? And I press yes. And then it says you may qualify for a badge. Fill the rest of this in. And then it asked you questions, it didn't specify the condition they are in this article. This dozy politician coming out with this bollocks about ADHD because she, I mean maybe she wasn't quite as saying adhd, maybe that's just in the article, I don't know. But the fact is is they're using ADHD because it's the, the, the milder invisible condition in their crazy brains.
Host 2
You shouldn't be able to get a parking space because you can't sit still.
Host 1
Yeah, literally like that. Like I said, at no point, let me reiterate, at no point when I was filling in the blue badge form did it mention anything about adhd. It just mentioned invisible disabilities, which can be many.
Host 2
Would you like to read some of the comments under this post? Gives you a bit of an idea of the people that read this particular newspaper or establishment perhaps.
Host 1
Let, let, let me guess, middle aged white guys that are like, oh them boat people, they're responsible for everything. Everyone just wants a free ride.
Host 2
Not quite, but not far off. So somebody has quoted exactly. This needs to end as if it's a pandemic. A gentleman I assume called Dean Murphy has put most of the blue badge holders I've seen recently look like they could backflip into the supermarket and somebody underneath has commented, perfectly able to get out of their Range Rovers too. A woman called Caroline Davis shouldn't put your name on a public forum. Has put half of Britain will have blue badges. This is absolutely absurd. So Caroline does recognize that there Are more people in with undiagnosed ADHD in this country? But she doesn't think that they deserve disability rights. Thank you, Caroline. Somebody called Midnight Mark has put pathetic benefits Britain. ADHD doesn't prevent you from walking. Neither do plenty of other illnesses. Keep the badge for those that need it.
Host 1
And an IQ of 70 doesn't stop you from commenting on the sun newspaper.
Host 2
Yes, just because you can doesn't mean you should. Somebody called Jenny Taylor has put blue badges should be issued for mobility issues only. And Ian Howell has looked up from his pint at Wetherspoons this morning and gone, yes, quite right. And then Rob has put. What is it to stop me from identifying as a mobility car, a blue badge or even an amputee? Interesting. Very, very interesting.
Host 1
It worries me, these people allowed to vote. It's scary.
Host 2
I mean, everyone's alive, everyone has the right to vote. I'm not going to tell anybody what they can and can't do. We're all, we're all available. But the thing that I think that does highlight is the, the complete lack of education that the majority of the public has and on top of that, the prejudice that a lot of people hold towards those that need support from the system now.
Host 1
But also it proves that this, the son or the independent who made the article had done exactly what they wanted to do. They've enraged the melon heads, they've enraged the, the, the tiny brained morons into clickbaiting and getting angry about this. But on the other side, not like by, by literally agreeing with what they're saying because they use the term adhd, because I do wonder if these same people, if the term dyspraxic or the term autism neurodivergent in general, I, I just wonder if they would have had the same response. And I, I'm just gonna guess no. I'm gonna guess no.
Host 2
Yeah, I think obviously the article did its job, we were enraged and we're talking about it, so congratulations on that, I suppose.
Host 1
But we are calling them buttheads.
Host 2
We are calling you buttheads, though, because this, this for me highlights how quick people are to discuss ADHD without actually realizing what, what the it is. Everyone seems to have an opinion that it's just naughty little white boys that can't sit still. But second of all, it highlights to me that there is a real fracture in society around those that think they deserve something and those that need support. Because, you know, we all, I, I say we always. I read a lot of online people that are talking about broken Benefits Britain. But I don't know many people that require disability support actually get it. I don't know many people that have passed pip. I can maybe count one or two and all of them had to go to tribunal. And it's not like you were saying with the Blue badge thing. It's not like you just ring them up and go, me want blue Badge, me get, me get badge. It doesn't work like that. It's a real battle to get these things. And again, it's just people dismissing disability as a. Have you just tried suffering? Get a grip. It boils my piss.
Host 1
Okay, so articles like this, comments like this from, from the Transport Secretary, stuff like this is, exists as a distraction from the real issue. It's the same as everything like this. They go after people who can't defend themselves, they blame people who can't defend themselves, whether it's immigrants, whether it's disabled people, whether it's different races. They will attack people who can't defend themselves and turn us. And when I say us, I mean us, the workers, the, the worker bees, the ants, the, the, the hive that keeps everything running. Right. Us workers will always be pitted against each other into these factions because the real power is the people that run the machine. We are cogs in the rich man's machine. And as long as they are make distracting us with like this, it, it means that we, instead of joining together, we split into left wing, right wing, Conservative, Labor, Lib Dem, reform. We split into these factions rather than all working together and going, do you know what? We're all in the same, the same boat, as it were. We're all in the same boat. We're all, we're all, we're cost of living is going up. We're not getting enough money. In general, the reason why PIP exists is because there is an extra cost of being disabled. People who wear glasses. I'm just going to put it out there. You have a disability. Your extra cost of that disability is you have to buy glasses. People who don't have bad eyesight don't have to buy glasses, therefore they don't have that extra cost. That is an example of the extra cost of a disability that you have to pay and the government won't. That's why PIP exists for people with disabilities, is to pay for that extra cost. Right, but it's not just that, it's just in general. It, like anyone who claims benefits is villainized for it, but benefits exist in order to help. People say, oh, we don't want to help People, yes, people do take advantage of the system. Every system is going to be taken advantage of. But the biggest and worst and most deplorable system that is being taken advantage of is mega, mega rich people not paying tax, avoiding tax. That's the problem. Stop blaming. You know Dave down the road who's bashed up his knee and he can't work, so he's, he's, he's, he's on benefit. Don't blame Dave. Blame Steve, who owns a billion dollar company and pays his workers minimum wage and then has 75 yachts because he couldn't decide what color when, when his workers are peeing, peeing in bottles because they can't get toilet breaks. We are living in a world where the poor people are literally being treated like shit. And yet because of their distractions from newspapers and social media, instead of attacking the people that deserve it, that is, we're attacking each other.
Host 2
Well, as an example, the sun is owned by Rupert Murdoch.
Host 1
Literally, I rest my case. Absolute ass. Just another multi billionaire who's manipulating us all in, in fighting. So stop fighting each other and stand up to the government and say tax the rich.
Host 2
Just threw my fist up in solidarity there. You know, you couldn't see it was like, yeah, a bit of that. Well, that's been your hot topic for this week. I'm really intrigued to know what are your thoughts on it. Are you somebody who does have ADHD and has a blue badge? I'd be really intrigued to think what you hear of this story. If you're somebody who got rejected for a blue badge, hit us in the comments. I'd love to know what you think of this and, and whether you agree with us, but this has been your hot topic for this week. We will be back on the Autistic Culture Podcast Network with another episode of the Neurodivergent Experience next Thursday. And your hot topic will be in your feed on Friday. Take care of yourself. Be kind, be safe.
Host 1
And if you are listening on the Autistic Culture podcast, go over to our podcast and listen to our back catalogue of episodes.
Host 2
Check those out nightly.
Host 1
Bye.
Host 2
Thanks for tuning in to the Neurodivergent Experience. We hope today's episode sparks something for you. Whether it's a new idea, a bit of validation, or just a moment of connection. Remember, new episodes are every week, so be sure to join us for the next one for more conversations and insights into the neurodivergent Experience. If you've enjoyed this podcast, help us grow. You can do that by rating and reviewing this show. Your support makes a huge difference in helping us reach more people who could benefit from these conversations. You can connect with us on social media, find us on Instagram, follow Facebook, TikTok. Just search for the neurodivergent experience. Thank you again for listening. And until next time, take care of yourself. You're not alone in this journey.
Episode: Hot Topic: ADHD & Blue Badges — Who Gets to Be “Disabled Enough”?
Hosts: Jordan James and Simon Scott
Date: May 28, 2026
This episode dissects a recent UK media controversy over “hidden disabilities,” focusing on debates about ADHD and eligibility for blue badge parking permits. The hosts, Jordan and Simon, use a controversial news article and its inflammatory social media comments as a lens to discuss how society, politics, and the media frame and misunderstand neurodivergent and invisible disabilities. The conversation explores personal experiences, societal prejudice, flawed policy discourse, and the tension about “who counts as disabled enough.”
This episode unpacks the loaded politics behind blue badge allocation for ADHD and hidden disabilities. Through personal story, article critique, reading of toxic comments, and a broader sociopolitical lens, Jordan and Simon challenge listeners to question society’s bias about “who deserves help” and to resist being divided by “clickbait headlines.” Their lived-experience perspective amplifies how media and political systems marginalize neurodivergent people, while offering a rallying call for empathy, education, and collective action.