In general terms, disability is used to describe ongoing physical, sensory or mental challenges. An invisible disability, also known as a hidden disability, is a physical, mental or neurological condition that is not visible from the outside, yet can limit or challenge a person’s movements, senses, communication or activities.
Individuals with invisible – or hidden – disabilities often face misconceptions and judgements from others who don’t understand their condition. The more we can educate ourselves and others about non-visible disabilities, the closer we are to making society more inclusive and reducing barriers. Invisible disabilities include learning difficulties, neurological disorders or injuries, chronic conditions, mental health conditions, visual impairments and deafness to name a few.
Hidden disabilities can often be misunderstood by others who may not be aware of the individual’s condition. They can impact many aspects of a person’s life such as travelling, managing money, communication, personal relationships and emotional wellbeing.
Many people with invisible disabilities may experience fear of judgement due to misconceptions about their perceived ability.
There is a lot of stigma and misunderstanding attached to hidden disabilities, which can make it difficult for those affected by them to get the help and support they need.
However, with more awareness and understanding about these conditions, hopefully we can start to break down the barriers that people with invisible disabilities face every day.
How do you know if someone has an invisible disability?
Over the past six years, you may have seen individuals start to wear a sunflower lanyard when they’re out and about in public spaces. Since 2016, the sunflower has been recognised globally by all sorts of sectors, organisations and businesses, and is a way to discreetly let people know that the individuals wearing them may need additional support and help due to a hidden disability.
While the sunflower is not a pass to be fast-tracked or bring about any other benefits, it’s a good way of making people more aware of invisible disabilities and their impacts.
Is Deafness a hidden disability?
An invisible disability refers to someone with a disability that is not immediately apparent, and Deafness falls into this category. Not all Deaf people wear hearing aids or cochlear implants, which means it’s difficult to identify a Deaf individual.
There are around 11 million people in the UK who suffer from hearing loss, which makes it the second most common invisible disability in the UK. People may find it difficult to empathise with the person who has an invisible disability, wrongly assuming they have no disability. This can lead to frustrations, misunderstandings and, in extreme cases, aggressive behaviour.
How can businesses help the Deaf community?
Making adjustments for Deaf or Hard of Hearing people and those with other invisible disabilities can often be achieved with just small changes that will result in a more inclusive and accessible environment. Some of the things your business can do include:
Learn basic signs
Learning the basics of British Sign Language (BSL) will significantly improve the way you and your team can engage with Deaf colleagues and customers.
Deaf Awareness Training
Deaf awareness training can make your team more aware of the communication barriers Deaf people face, and how the business can support staff to develop a range of communication tactics and make the company’s processes and procedures deaf friendly.
Provide access to additional support
Whether it’s hiring a BSL Interpreter for an event or meeting, or providing captioning on training videos, there are many ways to implement inclusive practices. This ensures that your Deaf employees and customers have access to appropriate support when needed.
How can Sign Solutions help?
Sign Solutions was established in 1998 and since that time, we’ve developed extensive knowledge becoming leading experts in the provision of interpretation and translation services. We provide a friendly, professional and helpful service for organisations, the Deaf community and language service professionals.
Our team is committed to providing access which combats inequality. This is something we strive to achieve in-house and externally through our attitude, commitment and vital work. Sign Solutions doesn’t just provide communication solutions, but, as a team, we foster a culture which promotes inclusion, access and equality in all we do.
We offer a wide range of services for individuals and organisations to further improve the way hidden disabilities, like deafness are perceived, and to make way for more inclusivity for the Deaf community.
We provide a full range of communication support services to help you make your business accessible. These include Deaf Awareness Training, video interpreting and BSL in-vision translation services, plus expert consultancy to help you share your content in a way that’s inclusive and effective.
For more information on how we can help, give us a call on 0121 447 9620 or email bookings@signsolutions.com.
