There is no necessity to have ID cards, it is not a huge problem. It is not
up to employees to decide other people's medical needs, that is their
personal business and 99% of the time it is not an issue and we do not even
know there is a person with a disability present. Can you imagine having to
explain something like PTSD every time you go to the store? That would be a
nightmare and is cruel.

I have met people with anxiety, PTSD, and other such problems who literally
cannot leave their house without their dog, all public places increase
their discomfort. They should never have to explain this to anyone other
than their doctors. They have done nothing wrong and should never feel that
they have to defend themselves.

Glucose dogs, I believe, bark in a specific way to let their person know
what is happening. They would be useless if they can only alert people in a
single house. Their entire purpose is to notify the person before symptoms
are present to prevent the problem and so they have to be with their person
at all times. Because dogs are easily trainable, and have such strong sense
of smell, they are discovering new uses for them all the time to help
people with invisible problems and we should not discourage this. Well
trained dogs will never use the bathroom inside, nor will they approach or
bother other people.

It is not our job to interrogate our guests, but to have policies that
allow for full access without harming our artifacts.

These discussions help people to understand these things, and are great.
Even if we are not front like employees, we encounter people all the time
in our everyday lives and it is good to know that seeing a dog at the
grocery store, hardware store or museum is not something to be shocked at.


On Sun, Sep 14, 2014 at 12:20 PM, adelheid straten <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>
>  Am 14.09.2014 15:54, schrieb Elizabeth Walton:
>
> We do not have anything like an ID card in the US for disabilities. People
> do not have to prove they are disabled.
>
> Hi, Elisabeth,
>
> Hm. That's the point.
> This can be the reason for many problems in public life. IC cards would
> make life much easier for both parties. Here in Germany they come from
> health insurances (!), but I could imagine that fiscal authorities or
> hospitals could issue such official cards. With picture and valid only for
> a limited period. It's much easier to check an ID card than mere
> statements.
>
>
>  We also cannot judge dogs by breed since there are many uses for dogs,
> including small ones that are carried. Dogs are often used for PTSD or
> anxiety disorders. Small dogs can also be trained to smell for changes in
> glucose levels for diabetics.
>
> Well, as there are museums that cause anxiety disorders, :-) ... To my
> knowledge, patients with anxiety disorders get, from time to time, a
> treatment with well trained  puppies. But a puppy is no substitute for
> medicamentation. But as they all have to be medically treated, there is no
> need to bring these puppies into a museum.
>
> With concern to glucose sniffling dogs (you are right, I recently saw such
> a dog in a TV program) : They are trained to push a certain button in the
> household in case of emergency.
> What are they supposed to do in such a case of emergency in a museum?
> The best proposal was that the security personnel has small rations of *medical
> *"sweets" at hand for such situations.
>
> Generally, it might be a good idea to put a sentence into the visitors'
> regulations that anyone on prescribed medical drugs is obliged to be on
> standard level when visiting the museum.
>
> Best
>
>
> Christian
>
> Do not miss the newest issue of EXPOTIME! Reading is free:
> http://www.museum-aktuell.de/expoTime/eTime/ExpoTime!-2014-09/index.html
>
>
>>
>
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