Are you struggling with one or more “hidden” disabilities? What constitutes a hidden disability?
Very recently I was made aware of the »Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Scheme« through a video posted by Molly Burke, a blind young lady and content creator advocating for more accessibility in everyday life, titled Everyone needs to know about this! (the hidden disability sunflower).
After watching that video I checked out the official »Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Scheme« at https://hdsunflower.com/.
There is an extensive list of disabilities listed with a short description of symptoms and the common needs that sufferers have. But when you go to the shop area and look at the »Personalized ID Cards« there are many more disabilities available. Depending on your geographic selection it can be over 50. These cards, that you can wear on a lanyard, state the disability on the front and on the back have a brief one or two sentence statement regarding the disability and the needed help, as well as up to five icons regarding your needs. They can be personalized with a photo, name and possible emergency contact information.
Some Hidden Disabilities that have been mentioned by members here on BigCloset that are available are: ADHD, PTSD, Diabetes, Tourette, Long COVID, Epilepsy, Celiac Disease, Autism, Autism Spectrum, Anxiety. You might even want to check out listings for a different region.
There are also items for supporters who are not directly affected by any hidden disability.
As I am suffering from more than one disability and living all by my lonesome self, I have gotten very tired of constantly advocating for myself. To the point that I have almost no energy to leave my home for groceries, much less for medical treatments. And I often wonder why I can not just fade away into oblivion.
Comments
Yep
Being there; doing much of that
Love, Andrea Lena
Yep. Not all is seen ...
Not very often, but I see complaints about
"Someone parked in Handicapped, got out of their car and looked and moved just fine - what's with that?".
Well, first check very carefully for a Handicapped Plate, placard or 'hang tag'.
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For my first shopping trip, I had a driver; for the first and next two trips , I used one of the in-store motorized shopping carts.
But ... how was anybody going to spot I was still recovering from open heart surgery? (I never did go as far as getting Plates, hang tag or placard.)
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Another driver read my bumper, and told me I needed one more sticker, advocating adopting shelter dogs.
We got lucky. From the way he spoke - and the fact he started Signing at me - I figured out he was partly deaf. Best I could do was hold out my hand like so (thumb on left): \|..| combining "I" ( .|... ), "L" ( \|... ) and "Y" ( \...| ), then covering the sign hand and looking sad. "ILY" is either I Love You" or "I 'speak" sign. Then covering the sign and looking sad is my idea of negation. (No, I don't sign),
He had enough hearing and speech that we did OK.
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I've heard that in Chicago (USA) the 'I speak sign' word looks like a gang recognition sign. Takes doing less than nothing to get shot in my city.
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I can go into the 'ethnic section' or into certain food stores in Chicago, and Poof! I'm 95%+ illiterate.
I suspect I would also have several 'disabilities'.
Except I refuse to acknowledge any of them wanting to live a normal life as I age and become more feeble. Today I ran a workshop for the analysis of barn owl pellets for a group of countryside rangers and apprentices. They all enjoyed themselves, learned something of the ecology of the animals whose remains they were examining, and learned more about optics, as I took, a hand lens, a magnifying headset and 2 stereo microscopes. They enjoyed the intense concentration they had to use which of course relaxed them as they couldn't think of other things, I just led the workshop, dealing with enquiries and offering advice. I was the amateur but one with 60 years of experience in conservation. I enjoyed it too, sharing my knowledge with others, increasing theirs and enriching mine. It was a good day.
Angharad
Effects of a “disability” vary between people
A “disability” does not necessarily “disable” a person. Some disabilities can actually become an asset for certain people in certain circumstances. For example, ADHD will more or less disable an accountant or bookkeeper, but some of the best emergency room doctors are those who have ADHD. Also for entrepreneurs and innovators having ADHD is a huge boon, though they do require a team of assistants who will take care of the routine stuff.
For me specifically claustrophobia and [social] anxiety are really debilitating. To the point that any travel becomes a very expensive and painful endeavor. Air travel is especially troublesome. The space available in economy seats is so scarce that it triggers claustrophobic panic attacks. And due to this “disability” I am bared from the exit row seats. So the only available option would be bulkhead seats or upgrading to business class. But in most intra-european airplanes the business class seat is actually an economy class seat with the middle seat block out, so you get more elbow room but not more room in front of your face.
Also bright light shining directly into my face (sunlight or headlights of oncoming traffic at night) tends to cause seizures or blackouts that could potentially be fatal for me.
So far I have tried to be aware of my limitations and live my life to the best of my abilities. But I have come to the point where I have to acknowledge that a little bit of assistance or accommodation would go a very long way towards having a worthwhile life again.