This week the Invisible Disabilities Association celebrates “Invisible Disabilities Week” (IDW). This annual event, which started in the US in 2015, hosts daily activities to improve awareness of invisible disabilities. Events are available online and all around the world and this year’s theme is: “Time to Believe”.

A “visible disability” can be seen, such as a person in a wheelchair or someone walking with a guide dog. An invisible disability, in contrast, is a hidden ailment that hinders normal activities and daily living. It is also only revealed when affected persons choose to reveal their condition for example people who need to manage depression or Endometriosis. Since invisible disabilities are not readily noticeable, they are often misconceived, misinterpreted or even just ignored.

Students at the University of Pretoria, specifically in the Department of Historical and Heritage Studies, have been researching disabilities, specifically invisible ones, to assess the accessibility of the tourism industry. One such study compared South Africa, Australia, and India’s invisible disability-related legislation and tourism experiences. It found that Australia and India have a slight advantage over South Africa and are better able to accommodate invisible disabilities. This is, as the student’s supervisor Prof Karen Harris noted, “a pioneering study in the context of South Africa.” 

As one external examiner commented, the study “has the potential to give persons with invisible disabilities hope that someone is writing about them and that they may be recognised and accorded accessibility in the tourism industry.”

So, what will you contribute to this year’s Invisible Disabilities Week?

See more about Invisible Disabilities Week at InvisibleDisabilitiesWeek.org