Do you see me? Understanding non-visible disabilities

When you think of a person with a disability, the most common stereotype is to think of someone with a visible disability. However, it has been estimated that 80% of all people worldwide who live with disabilities are living with a non-visible disability, which is equal to over a billion people globally. 

You might have heard of the terms ‘hidden disability’ or ‘invisible disability’ before, however, the term ‘non-visible disability’ is now widely accepted. This is because the word ‘hidden’ suggests somebody is hiding their disability from others, and the word ‘invisible’ gives a feeling that the person with the disability is themself ‘invisible’. 

What is a non-visible disability? 

According to the UK government website:

“A non-visible disability is a disability or health condition that is not immediately obvious.”

That is to say, a non-visible disability is not something that someone is hiding purposefully; it is just not always immediately visible to others. However, people who know of or share the same non-visible disability can often see their disability in others who also share it. 

Which types of disabilities are non-visible?

Non-visible disabilities cover a wide range of disabilities, including, but not limited to: 

• mental health conditions 

• learning disabilities

• sensory, processing difficulties

• cognitive impairment or learning difficulties

• autism and Asperger’s syndrome

• visual impairments or restricted vision

• hearing loss

• non-visible health conditions

As you can see, the list of non-visible disabilities contains a variety of disabilities, which means that people’s experiences are very different, and they will all require different types and levels of support. Some people will overlap with multiple non-visible as well as visible disabilities and require different support at different stages of their lives. As well as this, some of the support will overlap, and the same support can be useful to people with different non-visible disabilities. 

Learning difficulties and learning disabilities, aren’t they the same thing? 

It is important here to explain the difference between a learning difficulty  and a learning disability. 

A learning difficulty may be described as having specific problems processing certain forms of information. 

Learning disabilities are specific disorders that impact an individual's ability to acquire, process, or use information effectively.

You can read more about this in our previous blog, “What is the difference between learning disabilities and learning difficulties?”

Why does it matter if someone’s disability is visible or not?

The overwhelming benefit to having a non-visible disability versus a visible disability is that individuals have the choice whether to keep their disability private or not. This has some advantages, such as being treated equally to non-disabled people. The disadvantage to this is when a person with a non-visible disability requires support. 

It may be more obvious to offer support to a person with a visible disability. However, for people with, or carers of people with, non-visible disabilities to receive support, they are more likely to have to:

•  use their own initiative

•  seek out information 

•  understand what support is available to them 

•  advocate for themselves

This can often be met with  judgement, misunderstanding, discrimination and exclusion, which can feel unfair, confusing and exhausting. 

What can we do to better support people with non-visible disabilities?

Non-visible disabilities are often overlooked in discussions about accessibility and inclusion. Acknowledging and spreading awareness of non-visible disabilities and the support that people may require is one way to improve this situation.  

Awareness campaigns, such as last week’s Learning Disability Week, help to spread awareness. The Learning Disability Week theme was all about people with a learning disability being “seen, valued and heard”, which is highly relevant to the lives of people with non-visible disabilities. Making all information accessible is also a simple way to ensure equality and support for all people, whatever their disability. 

Links:

Hidden Disabilities Website: https://hdsunflower.com/uk/insights/post/what-is-a-hidden-disability

Easy-Read-Online Blog post, What is the difference between learning disabilities and learning difficulties?: https://blog.easy-read-online.co.uk/what-is-the-difference-between-learning-disabilities-and-learning-difficulties 

Department of Health and Social Care, ‘Valuing People - A New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century’ https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7b854740f0b62826a041b9/5086.pdf 

Foundation for people with learning difficulties https://www.learningdisabilities.org.uk/learning-disabilities/a-to-z/l/learning-difficulties