Invisible disability
Invisible disabilities, also known as hidden disabilities or non-visible disabilities (NVDs), are disabilities that are not immediately apparent. Invisible disabilities range from chronic illnesses, fatigue, autism, ADHD, mental health disorders, and hearing/vision loss. Invisible disabilities can also include issues with mobility, such as a sitting disability like chronic back pain, joint problems, or chronic pain. People with invisible disabilities may face stigma in their workplace, school, and community as it can be difficult to understand their unique lived experience.
Various types of tools and accommodations are available to people with disabilities, which may keep their disability hidden, or make it apparent. For example, some people with visual or auditory disabilities who do not wear glasses or hearing aids, or who use contacts or discreet hearing aids, may not be obviously disabled. People affected may not use mobility aids on some days, or at all, because severity of pain or level of mobility may change from day to day. This may increase stigma, as society may question if they really need mobility aids if they are only using them part of the time. It is known as the suspicion of faking.
Of people with chronic illnesses, 96% have an invisible disability. It is estimated that 1 in 10 Americans live with an invisible disability. This number is likely higher worldwide, as 80% of all people with disabilities live in developing countries.
Mental disorders or developmental disabilities, such as ADHD, depression, anxiety, addiction, dyslexia, autism, or schizophrenia, are also classified as invisible disabilities because they are usually not detected immediately by looking at or talking to a person.
While mental disorders are not the only form of invisible disabilities, they are not to be missed. The National Institution of Mental Health says 1 in 5 US citizens are currently diagnosed. The key term "diagnosed" implies that there are millions more citizens who do not seek help. In other words, roughly 57 million American adults are diagnosed with mental disorders. On top of this, about 1 in 25 Americans have form of serious mental conditions, which separate them from their lives in aspects of work and relations.
Most people with repetitive strain injury move in a typical and inconspicuous way, and are even encouraged by the medical community to be as active as possible, including playing sports; yet those people can have dramatic limitations in how much they can type or write, or how long they can hold a phone or other objects in their hands.
People with disabilities may experience solely visible or invisible ailments, while others experience both visible and invisible impairments. This includes impairments that may only be visible due to specific circumstances. The struggles people experience regarding their invisible disabilities may stem from medical issues and are heavily shaped by social attitudes, stigma, and misunderstanding. Society has defined a certain view of being sick. Therefore, when society claims that someone doesn't look sick, because their disability is invisible, it is dismissive, doubtful, and minimizing. This creates a need for people to justify or prove their illness which adds emotional stress and is disliked by disability studies scholars.