| Visible Disabilities | Invisible Disabilities | |
|---|---|---|
| General Descriptions | Person has VISIBLE use of wheelchair, prosthetics, walker, oxygen, etc., or they may have loss of limb(s), sight, hearing ---but their loss is visible. Limitations may be minor to totally disabling. | Person has limitations that are INVISIBLE on the outside, such as debilitating fatigue, pain, neurological damage, learning disability, lung and/or heart problems.
Limitations may be minor to totally disabling. |
| Different Frustrations | Person may look unable to complete a task---yet, they are often perfectly able to participate, with or without limitations. People presume they cannot do anything, even when they say they can. | Person may look perfectly able to complete a task--yet they may have many limitations or may even be totally unable to participate at all.
People presume they can do anything, even when they say they cannot! |
| Similar Frustrations | People presume they know what their abilities are by looking at them. People do not believe them when they say they can do something. | People presume they know what their abilities are by looking at them. People do not believe them when they say they cannot do something. |
| Different Goals | Convince others that even though they may not look fine, they are able to work and/or participate in other activities. | Convince others that even though they may look fine, they are unable to work and/or participate in other activities. |
| Common Goals | Strive for Respect, Credibility, Belief, and Opportunity. Do not want to be prejudged by outer appearance. Desire Accessibility: Right to enjoy work, stores, restaurants, recreation/socialization, etc., just like everyone else! | Strive for Respect, Credibility, Belief, and Opportunity. Do not want to be prejudged by outer appearance. Desire Accessibility: Right to enjoy work, stores, restaurants, recreation/socialization, etc., just like everyone else! |
| Irony | Usually it is not visible disabilities that keep the person from working---we can see the impairment, and therefore do not question them when they tell us they cannot perform some task(s). | Usually it is invisible. |
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