How many non-visible disabilities are there? More than you’d think. Let’s tell the world about it!

Globally 1 in 7 of us live with a disability. That is approximately 1.3 billion people. But while some of us experience a disability that is visible, many have a non-visible condition or experience a combination of both visible and non-visible conditions. These can be neurodevelopmental, physical, visual, auditory or neurological , as well as cognitive. They can also be respiratory and include chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes, chronic pain and sleep disorders.

As diverse as these conditions are, so are each person's access needs and the barriers they may face in their daily lives. So some individuals opt to wear the Sunflower to discreetly identify their individual needs in shops, at work, on transport, or in public spaces.

At Hidden Disabilities Sunflower, we believe that the more we all are aware of and understand non-visible disabilities, the more we can help to shape the world to support those living with them. To raise awareness of the wide range of non-visible disabilities and conditions that Sunflower wearers experience, we're aiming to produce the world's longest lanyard..

Each disability or condition that that is added to our list increases the length of our lanyard and gets added onto a huge Sunflower card. We're setting our sights high and aim to have captured so many hidden disabilities that we'll produce the world's longest lanyard. We will reveal it at Naidex 2023, the 50th anniversary of the conference that celebrates the disability community.

But we can't do this alone. Every contributor helps to reveal more of the world of hidden disabilities. So please join in and suggest a non-visible disability) and help take the Sunflower lanyard on this journey by sharing in our World Record attempt!

Join in and tell the world about hidden disabilities

Hiddendisabilitiesstore.com/disabilities-form