An invisible disability is a type of disability that isn’t readily apparent to the people around you. Someone who is in a wheelchair or needs to use a cane to walk would have a visible disability. Meanwhile, someone who is suffering from chronic back pain, a migraine, depression or ADD might have an “invisible disability” because no one can see it.
Just because a disability is not readily visible, however, does not mean that the disability is any less debilitating. Individuals with invisible disabilities could be suffering from pain, dizziness, fatigue and cognitive impairments that are so severe they can’t perform their job duties. Some individuals with invisible disabilities could also find themselves facing hostility by those around them.
People who suffer from hidden disabilities are sometimes accused of faking their symptoms. Doctors and superiors at work might try to tell them that they have fabricated their illnesses in odor to gain some kind of special treatment. However, there are many people who have invisible disabilities in the United States — 10 percent of the population to be exact.
For this reason, employers need to be on alert for employees who may be struggling to keep up at work because they don’t have the kind of accommodations they deserve. In severe cases, the people with disabilities could even find themselves being wrongly terminated. If you’ve been terminated from your job because of a hidden disability, you may be able to fight back for your legal rights in court. In some cases, people with disabilities who have been discriminated against like may have the ability to pursue legal claims in court.
Source: Disabled World, “Invisible Disabilities List and Information,” accessed June 15, 2018
