Family versus Handicapped Restrooms

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Is there a difference between a Family and a Handicapped restroom, especially in terms of who may use either?
I was under the impression they are essentially the same and that an incontinent person is welcome to use either for a diaper change.
A confrontation with a young mother outside a family restroom at the Charlotte airport yesterday has me wondering if my assumptions were wrong and I should not have been in there?

 

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Here's some info from the American Restroom Association.

The handicapped or family restroom should be available to anyone with special needs, whether visible or invisible. The young mother who shamed you for using it was out of line - she is perfectly entitled to use that restroom, but so are you, and her special needs are neither more nor less important than yours.

It's not uncommon for those with visible special needs to try to shame those with invisible special needs because of the perception that "their" facilities are being abused. I understand the defensiveness, but shaming people whose situation you don't understand really isn't ok.

I'm sorry you had to go through that.

 

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I carry a card like this in my wallet I looked for the source that I got this card from the web page no longer exists I would suggest doing a search for "restroom access card" there are several sources of similar cards available this helps cut down on the static

 

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Is there a difference between a Family and a Handicapped restroom, especially in terms of who may use either?
I was under the impression they are essentially the same and that an incontinent person is welcome to use either for a diaper change.
A confrontation with a young mother outside a family restroom at the Charlotte airport yesterday has me wondering if my assumptions were wrong and I should not have been in there?

Great question

 

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They are for all who need special either assistance or other accommodations. I have been approached with hostile words prior to the total need of my walking aides. At the zoo one time a what I assumed to be a grandmother, yelled at me saying one of the kids with her needed a diaper change, I simply looked at her and said he was not the only one. It has happened at airports, rest areas while traveling the roads. Now that I must use my walker, not one time has anyone said anything to me.

Oh the one time at the zoo, the lady that was kind of hostile saw me later. This woman did actually apologize to me and said, I apologize I was only thinking of myself and needs and not that of others such as yourself. I told her no need for the apology it is very easy to make assumptions. I thanked her taking the time to do so and that was very kind.

 

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I've written about this issue once before, and all I can say is that I wouldn't want to be the person who tries to make trouble for me in this situation. I am more than willing to give it back to someone who thinks that just because I look fine and that I should be able use a regular bathroom that I can't use 'theirs.' I mean, what if I'm giving myself an injection, or am having trouble with a bad reaction to medication taken earlier? The last thing anyone here needs is someone with attitude banging on the door.

 

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I understand very well what we all go through on this particular topic. What I don’t understand is why the United States, with the ADA and other great legislation is so far behind so many other countries when it comes to BATHROOM USE ABUSE! Maybe I’m an idiot, but I just don’t get it? How is it anyone else’s business which bathroom I need to use! I used to get a card when in London & Frankfurt (very handy in a town that drinks more beer than water!) that allowed me access to any bathroom! I hate to say it but for those that have never experienced a spine injury, IBD, Crohns etc. let alone urinary incontinence either themselves or a family member, they still have this notion that if you look healthy, then it must be so?
Having traveled internationally for work for 20+ years, you tend to see both the best & worst in people, especially condensed into an airport type scenario where many people are already on edge. For a few periods I needed to wear a neck brace to support the damaged neck tissues (too many surgeries) and always treated with respect. The minute I put it in my carry on in the US, I would get the “Side Eye” or even a direct stare when entering a handicapped bathroom after a long flight. Did I just become perfectly healthy on that miracle flight that bounced me up & down for 6 hours of fun? Am I stealing something of theirs or am I sneaking in “The Forbidden Place”?
Another sad part is “we” are getting locked out of bathrooms more & more each day because drugs users have found a place they can lock themselves into, and do their drugs & potentially OD, without being disturbed other than the pounding on the door. This is why a number of Starbucks closed their stores in California this year. They couldn’t protect their employees from the addicts in the bathroom, couldn’t lock the bathroom doors by law, and had to call police to knock down the door and remove them so they could close up for the night.
I don’t mean to make light of this topic in any way, this scourge is horrible! 100,000+ young people age 18-45 dead already this year from Fentanyl alone! The #1 cause of death! Each one has a family and friends, yet this just another BOLD ground level attack on America by the Chinese using established Mexican Cartels. We seized 3.5 million Fentanyl pills last week, est. 4% of the total 90 MILLION pills per week coming through the border every week, yet the US borders remain wide open, while the Cartels run the Mexico side like a Fortune 100 Corporation!
Sorry for rambling, after 5 years I forgot how much fun it was to fly internationally with a backpack full of emergency supplies & a laptop bag…

 

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I actually had no idea that we were allowed to use parent’s rooms, but it makes sense.

I can definitely relate to poor treatment from ignorant people. Security at my local shopping centre noticed that I was frequently using the disabled bathroom a while back and would give me weird looks and even hang around outside the bathroom when I was using it. After accessing it a handful of times, I found it locked one day when I was in desperate need of a change and had to use a stall in the men’s room. It was never unlocked after that day. I assume that you had to ask a store holder for a key which is very unfair to anyone needing access.

I have also had an experience at my university where I have been questioned by a campus officer about my use of the disabled bathroom upon exit. I was very cranky that day and pulled my wet bagged nappy out of my backpack to show her and asked whether bins could please be installed in the bathrooms because I was sick of carrying around bags of used nappies. I never had trouble after that and credit to her, all disabled bathrooms at my uni now have big bins in them.

 

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So I can't say anything about the situation in the U.S. - for Europe, I don't think this question really arises.

Many European countries have the "Eurotoilet key" - the English have the "Radar Key". The keys are available for the physically disabled and people with a chronic bowel or bladder weakness against a medical certificate.

The main difference to the "Family Restrooms" is that the disabled toilets are equipped for the disabled. Here there are - at least in Germany two variants. The "simple" one includes at least enough space to drive a wheelchair next to the toilet, as well as handholds next to the toilet with which one (if one can still do it) can move from the wheelchair to the toilet, a backrest and a sink. The second variant also has at least ceiling hooks for a lifting system with which a disabled person can be lifted out of the wheelchair, as well as a height-adjustable toilet and height-adjustable washbasin. Both have an emergency call system.

For both there is an EU standard. For "Family Restrooms" there are no standards and of course not handicapped accessible equipment.

The question of access is also superfluous - because only people with a key can access the disabled toilet.

If I need it (because I have to clean myself, for example) I always use the disabled toilet or the family restroom. To be honest, I couldn't care less if anyone gets upset. It's not like the wheelchair users stand in line in front of the things - the same goes for the Family Restrooms. In case of doubt, the others have to wait - I also have to wait when the restroom is occupied.