Not Every Disability is Visible

One of the biggest things about having an invisible disability is that often, they aren’t perceived as a disability. Crohn’s & Colitis UK have launched the next stage of their Not Every Disability is Visible campaign, which is very close to my heart.

80% of disabled people have a hidden disability, which works out as 4 out of 5 disabled people. This is why it is so important to start recognising invisible disabilities as disabilities.

I have ulcerative colitis and now a stoma because my bowel doesn’t (didn’t ?) work properly. I have had to use so many disabled toilets over the years because of my invisible disability.

However, I always get worried that someone is going to question why I’m using a disabled toilet. Mainly because I look like a healthy young person. Spoiler alert – young adults still need to use disabled toilets!

I know that I have been very lucky and not had any altercations when using a disabled toilet. I’ve had the odd look but nothing major. However, I know so many fellow spoonies who have. Sam, from So Bad Ass, wrote a fantastic post a few years ago about her experience of using disabled toilets.

Small signs make a BIG difference

Crohn’s and Colitis have been working to get more recognition for invisible illnesses. Part of this is getting the sign on disabled toilets changed so more people will be aware.

Over 50% of people living with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have had negative comments made about them using disabled toilets.

However, because of the Not Every Disability is Visible campaign, 80% of people said that they felt more comfortable visiting a site with the signage installed.

When the campaign started, the goal was to get the toilet signs changed in all supermarkets. Guess what, there was a 100% success rate!

It is still being rolled out but most supermarkets now have the new disabled toilet sign.

Having access to toilets when you have a bowel disease is one of the most important things. I’ve written before about incontinence and how it affected me. Having access to disabled toilets was one of the few things which meant I could still leave the house at times.

Simple things like going to do a food shop are made more possible with access to toilets because let’s be honest, no one wants to shit themselves when they’re trying to do the big shop!

There’s still a long way to go to make disabled toilets truly accessible. Creating a bigger toilet with a few grab rails really isn’t enough for many people. However, this is a great step towards more inclusivity.

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