Actually this is something that really pisses me off. Why doesn't Gordon Brown raise awareness of the challenges he faces due to his sight impairment?  Is it the stigma of disability?  Because people will say he can't do the job of Prime Minister properly for that reason?  Ensuring a little awareness is not the same thing as bleating for sympathy or making excuses.

Same issue with Jack Straw and the great big Hoo Ha after he asked a woman to remove her veil in his constituency surgery.  Not out of disrespect for her beliefs but because he has a hearing impairment and couldn't understand her.  Where was that in the press?

What is so fucking shameful about disability that people have to keep hiding it?  They are high profile and mainstream disabled people whether they want that label or not, they have a responsibility to to use that position to break down stigma, raise awareness.  This doesn't mean making a huge and continual fuss about it but just saying something would be a start.

I'm one of the highest profile deaf people in Wales, and I don't deliberately raise the issue to everyone I meet but it becomes obvious when people see my hearing aid or see the equipment I use to keep up in meetings, or when I ask in meetings for all phones to be switched off so it doesn't cause interference. Or when I just can't hear and explain that I am deaf.

I have a responsibility to make sure that other people learn just a bit from me, through talking to me about it or through observing how I do things. If I was being attacked for being a rude bitch for not talking to someone who was trying to speak to me or for 'dodging' an answer to a question, I'd point out that I probably didn't hear - it isn't an excuse but a reason and people should be aware.

Otherwise all those other people who don't have status, influence and visibility are going to keep bearing the brunt of stigma and society will stay inaccessible to them.