Ronneberger was using her Blue Badge in a Devon supermarket car park when a stranger spat at her, convinced her unsteady gait meant she was drunk.
The incident, recounted by the 52-year-old who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis a decade ago, lays bare the daily reality for thousands living with a condition whose symptoms are often invisible to the outside world. Her experience is not isolated but part of a widespread pattern of stigma revealed in a UK-wide survey conducted during MS Awareness Week by eight leading charities, which gathered responses from more than 1,600 people with MS.
Almost half of those surveyed said they had been questioned about using accessible facilities such as disabled toilets or priority seating, while more than half admitted avoiding them altogether for fear of judgment. One in four respondents said that same fear had stopped them leaving the house entirely.
In Inverness, best friends Hayley Lyons and Marta Vilmute, both diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS within months of each other, described how misconceptions follow them into spaces meant for health and strength. Marta, a 31-year-old purchasing analyst, said she frequently encounters disbelief at the gym when her vision suddenly doubles or her balance fails mid-lift, despite appearing physically capable.
“I don’t have any visible disability – I’m not in a wheelchair or on crutches – so a lot of people assume I’m in fighting shape,” Marta explained. “And then, for example, if I’m lifting a weight and I suddenly secure double vision because I’ve got too exhausted, they’re really taken aback and they’re like ‘oh, but you look fine.’” The frustration is compounded by the fact that 82 percent of Scottish survey respondents said they had been told they don’t look sick, while over half reported being made to feel their invisible symptoms like fatigue, pain, or cognitive issues don’t matter.
In Northern Ireland, Jordanna Kalla, 44, from Holywood in County Down, described how the stigma extends into professional and political realms. More than half of respondents in the region said they had felt stigmatised by politicians when claiming financial support, while nearly half said they had been underestimated at work because of their MS.
Jordanna said she often carries medical letters when travelling just to avoid being challenged about her need for special assistance, a precaution born from repeated encounters where her disability was questioned despite visible signs of struggle. “When I travel and use special assistance, I often notice looks that seem to say, ‘She doesn’t look disabled,’” she said. “I’ve even offered to show a medical letter just to avoid being judged.”
The cumulative effect of these experiences is profound. Across the UK survey, one in four respondents said fear of judgment had prevented them from leaving the house, a statistic that echoes findings from similar disability stigma research conducted a decade ago, when cerebral palsy advocacy groups reported comparable rates of social withdrawal due to public misunderstanding.
What are the most common misconceptions people have about multiple sclerosis?
The most widespread misconception is that people with MS “don’t look sick” because symptoms like fatigue, pain, cognitive issues, and vision problems are often invisible, leading others to assume they are exaggerating, lazy, or faking their condition.
How does stigma affect the daily lives of people with MS?
Stigma leads many to avoid using accessible facilities like disabled toilets or priority seating, with over half of survey respondents admitting they do so for fear of judgment; one in four said this fear has stopped them leaving the house entirely, impacting their ability to work, socialise, and access essential services.
