Definition
While some impairments are immediately apparent or ‘visible’ to other people, other impairments or health conditions are not always obvious, and are referred to as hidden disabilities, invisible disabilities, less-visible disabilities or non-visable disabilities.
They include mental health challenges, autism, hearing loss, visual impairments, chronic pain or fatigue, or cognitive impairments like dementia, brain injury or learning disability.
Some ‘invisible’ disablities are visible or obvious sometimes, or can be ‘seen’ by people who might have a better awareness or understanding of the condition. But they are not usually visible to other people.
This can mean assumptions are made about people, or the support and adjustments that people require are not acknowledged or put in place.
The sunflower is recognised as a symbol for non-visible disabilities. Sometimes people choose to wear a sunflower lanyard or carry a badge to show they have a non-visible disability.
The bigger picture
This term should be used with caution. To learn more about why, visit the related term Non-visible disability.