Hidden Disabilities

Not all disabilities are visible, hidden disabilities account for the majority of disabilities and include conditions including autism, dementia, MS, Chron's and a plethoria of other conditions. Some people with hidden disabilities are unable or find it more difficult to access information in traditional written formats. People who have a sensory Loss, autism, dementia, and an additional learning or literacy need often struggle with formats that do not meet their needs.

Visual Impairment

There are usually only variations on the following three terms. A person may use one, all, or none of these to identify themselves.

• Blind 
• Visually impaired
• Sight Loss

A person with a visual impairment may need large or high contrast text, an audio format or Braille.

Deaf and Hard of Hearing

In terms of people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, there can be many different and acceptable terms which people may use.

• Hard of hearing
• D/deaf – Do you remember this from earlier? Profoundly Deaf BSL users are proud of their culture, with many accepting the word “deaf” to label themselves but with the D always written as a capital letter.
• Hearing Impaired (widely used however, some individuals dislike the word “impaired”).
• Partially Hearing
• Lip Reader
• British Sign Language user
• Deaf Person/People
• A person who is Deaf
• Severely deaf
• Deafened

Again a person may use one of these, a collection of them, to identify themselves with or may not identify as any with any of these or even having a disability. People who are hard of hearing may and usually do have a literacy skill that means they can access information. However, a large number of profoundly Deaf people depend on BSL as their many and often only for of communication. 

Age related hearing loss is the main form found in the UK. This combine with age related visual impairment means that people may require a combination of methods to access information.

DeafBlind

DeafBlind terminology may be specific to DeafBlindness or be much more associated with a single sensory loss. The reason for this could be that although a person has a dual sensory loss, they may identify as having one which has a greater impact on their life or identity.

• DeafBlind
• Dual Sensory Loss
• Visually Impaired
• Blind
• Sight loss
• Hard of hearing
• D/deaf – Do you remember this from earlier? Profoundly Deaf BSL users are proud of their culture, with many accepting the word “deaf” to label themselves but with the D always written as a capital letter.
• Hearing Impaired (widely used however, some individuals dislike the word “impaired”).
• Partially Hearing
• Lip Reader
• Deaf Person/People
• A person who is Deaf
• Severely deaf
• Deafened

A person may use one of these, a collection of them, to identify themselves with or may not identify with any of these. We previously highlighted that as age related sensory loss is a huge factor when we thing of dual sensory loss.

Additional learning needs‘ (ALN) 

People with ALN'S have learning, physical or sensory needs which make of had made it harder for them to learn throughout their lives.

• People who have difficulty reading, writing, numeracy or understanding information
• People who have difficulty expressing themselves or understanding what others are saying
• People who struggle to make friends or relating to other people
• People that have medical, physical or sensory needs, which may affect their ability to interact and understand information

People with ALN's may require information in a very specific way despite their ability to interact with any form of information.

Additional Literacy Need (Dyslexia)

Dyslexia is a learning difficulty which primarily affects reading and writing skills. However, it does not only affect these skills. Dyslexia is actually about information processing. Dyslexic people may have difficulty processing and remembering information they see and hear, which can affect learning and the acquisition of literacy skills. Dyslexia can also impact on other areas such as organisational skills. 

It is important to remember that there are positives to thinking differently. Many dyslexic people show strengths in areas such as reasoning and in visual and creative fields. A person with Dyslexia, just as it is for people who may be blind and Deaf, can and often are extremely intelligent people, someone who is dyslexic simply needs help in accessing information in the most appropriate way for them.

Ways to see a hidden disability 

Sunflower Lanyards

It isn’t just attractions, shops are getting involved too. There are a number of shops offering quiet shopping times where they turn off the music and dim the lights and with incentives such as JAM cards and the Sunflower lanyards becoming more widely used, shopping with hidden disabilities has become so much easier.

When it comes to going on holiday or staying over night somewhere new, we know it can be incredible stressful and overwhelming for those with hidden disabilities, especially if they have to take medication at certain times or have a stoma for example. New places, new smells and of course, a break in the routine can cause anxiety for everyone and can really affect how they experience their break. Luckily, there are accommodation providers who have had effective training so they are ready to offer a helping hand. Many accommodation providers have ground floor rooms, quiet areas, sensory rooms and rooms that have minimal decoration, so take a look at what is available to you below.