People with Parkinson’s ask that the times they need for the development of their day-to-day be respected, from walking down a busy street to being able to interact with others. And they do it because they suffer from a disease associated with motor symptoms but which also causes other more disabling ones with a huge impact on their quality of life.
They make this claim in the #DAMEMITIEMPO campaign, which has the slogan “For social relations that respect the times of people with Parkinson’s” on the occasion of the commemoration of the World Day of this neurological disease, April 11. And the initiative has precisely the objective of advancing towards a more just, empathetic and sensitized society.
It is the Spanish Parkinson’s Federation (FEP) and its federated associations that promote the campaign so that citizens have an image “more adjusted” to the reality of people with the disease.
Parkinson’s is the second most common neurogenerative pathology after Alzheimer’s and affects more than 160,000 people in Spain alone, according to data from the FEP, and more than 8.5 million worldwide.
More information about Parkinson’s
Despite the figures, the World Health Organization (WHO) considers that the population is not well informed about the disease, which may lead to erroneous assumptions. A lack of knowledge that the FEP considers often causes the times that people with Parkinson’s need to not be respected.
Another of the FEP campaign postersAnd it is that, explains the FEP, Parkinson’s causes a series of motor and non-motor symptoms. In addition, many people are unaware of the fluctuations in symptoms during the same day, changes that are “unpredictable”, “seriously” limit the quality of life of those who suffer from the disease and have an impact on their social relationships.
Thus, gait blocks, slow movements, lack of balance when walking, facial stiffness or voice alteration are symptoms that may be unknown but can manifest in people with Parkinson’s when they are in spaces public or social events.
These symptoms place them, says the FEP, in a “vulnerable position before the looks, gestures and attitudes of a society that is unaware of the true complexity of the disease.”
The protagonists of #DAMEMITIEMPO
For this reason, in the campaign, the FEP shows Inés, Rufino, Pepa, Enrique and Emilia, who have had Parkinson’s for years but the disease manifests itself differently in each one.
He asks for time for Emilia, who speaks more softly and may not be heard when there are a lot of people, and also for Rufino, who due to the sleep disorders he suffers from the disease sometimes falls asleep in public places.
Or for Enrique and Pepe…”and for so many people who live with the disease”.
It is about making society understand through the testimonies of these protagonists how the lack of knowledge directly impacts their day-to-day lives.
In this way, according to the president of the FEP, Andrés Álvarez, “only by respecting the times can we move towards a fairer, more empathetic and more sensitive society.