What Are Invisible Disabilities?

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Definition:

What are invisible disabilities?

Types of invisible disabilities:

Learning Disabilities

Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder

Mental Illness

Asperger’s Syndrome

Mild Brain Injuries

Epilepsy

Tourette’s Syndrome

Types of invisible disabilities:


Simply put, invisible disabilities are hidden neurological conditions that present significant challenges to learning, interacting with others, regulating mood and thinking patterns, and otherwise experiencing a  fulfilling lifestyle.

Types of Invisible Disabilities

 Learning Disabilities

People with learning disabilities generally have average to above-average intelligence with large discrepancies between their abilities and specific areas of difficulty. The effects of learning disabilities may be mild, moderate, or severe. “Learning disability” is a generic term encompassing a wide range of learning and/or social difficulties. Such difficulties may include one or more of the following areas:

  • understanding, remembering or producing language (e.g. speaking, writing, reading, listening, spelling)
  • reasoning
  • motor co-ordination
  • mathematics
  • noticing and remembering social information
  • emotional maturation
  • processing information
  • organization of things, time and/or space

Attention Deficit  (Hyperactivity) Disorder

Attention Deficit Disorder is a biologically based condition causing a persistent pattern of difficulties resulting in one or more of the following behaviors:

  • inattention
  • hyperactivity
  • impulsivity

 Mental Illness

People with mental illness have a biological condition affecting the way they think, feel and/or perceive the world around them.

Asperger’s Syndrome

A mild form of autism is characterized by impairment in social interaction, development of restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, and activities. These characteristics adversely affect social and occupational functioning.

Mild Brain Injuries

Mild Brain injury is damage done to the brain, which may result in impaired cognitive abilities and/or physical functioning.

Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a disorder in which nerve cells of the brain from time to time release abnormal electrical impulses. These cause a temporary malfunction of the other nerve cells of the brain, resulting in alteration of, or complete loss of consciousness.

Tourette’s Syndrome

Tourette’s Syndrome (TS) is a neurological or neurochemical disorder characterized by tics involuntary, rapid, sudden movements or vocalizations that occur repeatedly in the same way.