Hutchins Library News Blog

Some resources for Invisible Disabilities Week: October 20-26, 2024

Did you know that about 20% of people live with a condition which could be considered an invisible disability. That amounts to approximately 66 million Americans?

Did you know that nearly half of Americans are living with a chronic medical condition, totaling 165 million people? Disabilities, chronic illnesses, chronic pain and injuries can all considered
invisible disabilities and they impact people from minor impairments to completely disabling. Some examples may include, but are not limited to, hearing loss (and the person may be wearing a discreet hearing aid), chronic pain, mental illness, and developmental disabilities such as depression, ADHD, and Schizophrenia. These conditions can hinder a person's ability to function in society, and they often go unknown or unacknowledged by the rest of society.

Thus to raise awareness and educate the Invisible Disabilities Association observes Invisible Disabilities Week in October. This year, the observance falls during the week of Sunday, October 20 to Saturday October 26, 2024. The observance was founded by the association in 2014.

If you want to learn more, here are some resources that may be of interest. Please note that library subscription based resources need the library patron to authenticate with Berea College credentials and DUO if accessing from off campus.

• Gale Virtual Reference is our collection of reference e-books and resources. You can use it to find definitions and basic information on various terms.
• Our library catalog, where you can search for books on specific topics such as disabilities and other health conditions.
• Our article databases where you can find scholarly as well as popular periodical publications. Find our list of databases here. Off the top, I would suggest CINAHL (nursing and allied health), Medline (National Library of Medicine), and PsycInfo (for psychology and mental health), but other options are available.
• On campus, you can also find more information and support through the Office of Disability and Accessibility Services.
• From the web:
  • Wikipedia has an entry on Invisible Disabilities.
  • An article on "The Hidden Challenges of Invisible Disabilities" via the BBC.
  • An article on how "People with invisible disabilities like me are routinely disbelieved" via ABC (Australia).

As always, if you need assistance with reference and research, you can stop by the Reference Desk during library regular hours, use the chat widget on the library website, or set up an appointment with a librarian via the library website. If you want to learn more about research consultations with a librarian, we have a blog post about it here.