What is the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower?

The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower enables people with non-visible disabilities to access the support they need. It acts a prompt for someone to choose to let people around them know they have a non-visible disability and that they may need a helping hand, understanding, or simply more time.

Not all disabilities are visible – some are not immediately apparent

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 physical, visual, auditory or neurological and range from autism and ADHD to cognitive impairments such as learning difficulties and dementia, as well as mental health conditions. They can also be respiratory and 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 face in their daily lives. So some individuals with conditions that are not immediately obvious to others opt to wear the Sunflower to discreetly identify their individual access needs in shops, at work, on transport, or in public spaces.

Making the invisible visible.