Invisible Disability

Any one who can see that a person in a wheel chair has a visible disability. Like wise seeing some one using a cane either as a walking aid sporting dark glasses and using a stick to ‘feel’ their way is likely blind.

Conversely someone who has an invisible disability, be it a learning disorder, a mental illness under control with treatment, or a person who has chronic debilitating pain are unseen unless their disability is known, they are viewed as not having anything disabling about them.

Persons with invisible disabilities that are not readily seen can be more disabled than those with a handicap that is easily visible.
What I am saying that both visible and invisible disabilities can both be a hardship and at times even devastating to the individual.

Just because a disability can not be seen doesn’t mean it’s any less disabling than one that can be seen by most people.This doesn’t doesn’t necessarily mean more so. It means that a visibility of disability should not be the sole criteria of who is considered disabled.

To me there is one very important exception to the above. The person with an invisible disability has to deal with not only their disability but the public’s attitude toward it. For it’s easy to realize some one who is physically challenged as being impaired. It’s harder to realize that a person who may look normal may also have an impairment.

Both situations have their challenges, if your visibly disabled, you may face prejudice and archaic attitudes of the unenlightened, but you may also receive some consideration from the public, EG. getting the hell out of the way of your wheelchair as you try to make your way around (though we all know that this is not always the case!)
If you disability is hidden for view, you may expect the opposite, people may see you wince in pain and think your a drama queen, children and adults with mental disabilities can be treated with fear and suspicion, even shunned as their behaviour to many seems ‘weird’ the lack of public understanding or assistance in this case is often apparent.

• WOMAN: PERFUME LEFT ME DISABLED New York Post

  NEWARK, N.J. A New Jersey appeals court has ruled that a woman who claims she was disabled by a coworkers perfume can move forward with her workers compensation lawsuit. Doris Sexton sued the Cumberland Manor nursing home where she worked…

• Family Travel: Can We Take Our Disabled Son To Florida? Independent

  Q. We have three young children, one of whom is six and severely disabled. We want to go to Florida next year, but have no idea of the mechanics of taking our disabled son on a flight. He wont be able to sit still in an aeroplane seat for more than a few minutes, and is too unmanageable to sit on our knees. Normally, he travels in a slightly larger than normal car seat which we will need to …

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