For those who follow my blog, Pinterest, or Facebook page, you have probably already seen these. When I first had the idea to create some home-printable business cards for awareness, I wanted something that got the point across that even though I look fine, I have a disability. The wheelchair, of course, is pretty much the universal sign of disability. The problem is, I do not often have to use a wheelchair.
On my worst days, yes, I may need a wheelchair. Other days, I may use my rolling cart with a seat. Still others, I may be perfectly fine just walking by myself. Dysautonomia is like a box of chocolates, you just never know what you are going to get–it can vary from day to day, hour to hour.
However, that reality does not fit well in to society’s perception of disability. You either are or are not disabled; no one believes it can be a transient state. Yet for millions of those with chronic illnesses, it CAN be a transient state, or at least a varying one. People don’t understand why one day you can be at Nordstroms shopping like a normal person, and the next day at Walgreens in a wheelchair. And without one of the universal signals that conveys a reason for needing assistance (e.g. grey hair or an appendage in bandages) one is likely to get strange stares at best, and nasty comments at worst.
At one point, I was actually considering buying a walking cast to wear when I felt I needed to use a wheelchair or mobility cart at the store. If I was wearing one of those (despite the fact I did not actually NEED it) I was unlikely to be bothered or questioned. I never did buy the walking cast, mostly due to the expense, but also because I felt I should be strong enough to defend myself and my invisible disability. Yet I found myself just avoiding leaving the house all together; the thought of possibly having to deal with mean, ignorant people while also feeling like crud was just too much.
Thus, began my search for an image that conveyed that though I look “normal,” I have “unseen” issues that affect my abilities. I did not want something sarcastic or confrontational, even though I could definitely identify with those sentiments. And I did not want to go into too much detail about my particular condition. I wanted something professional, quickly identifiable, and universal. Because, sometimes, I just don’t feel like explaining my entire medical history since no one has ever heard of what I have.
Best I can tell, there does not seem to be any universal symbol of invisible illness or invisible disability. There are some for individual situations–such as hearing impaired or blind–but nothing for a general “my body just does not work right.” I really like this one:
But A) the image was intricate enough it did not work well as a small image on a business card and B) it still used the wheelchair, something that not everyone with invisible illness and disability uses. Thus, I made my own. Working with symbols that already had widely known meanings, I decided to put the Rod of Asclepius (not to be confused with the Caduceus) into the widely used signs for Man and Woman. I probably could have just used the Man symbol, as it seems to be the default, but as a woman with an illness that most often affects women, I just kind of liked the idea of a gender specific one.
I spent a lot of time trying to decided whether to use the Rod of Asclepius or something else. I even focus grouped it on a couple of my chat groups. While not all invisible disabilities are thought of as “medical” in the same sense that most invisible illnesses are, it seemed to me that a lot of them were at least biological in nature. Thus, I felt that Rod of Asclepius was the most representative symbol that was widely recognizable.
So, a little paint action later, I had my symbol. I made one for both Invisible Illness and Invisible Disability, as I know some with chronic illnesses have issues with the “D” word (I know it took me a long time to embrace it). I made generic ones, both man and woman.
And later made versions that also include mentions of specific conditions so I could continue to raise awareness for both my condition and invisible disabilities/illnesses in general.
I keep the ones I have made on my Pinterest page, and have posted a few of them here. While I don’t ever expect them to receive wide-ranging recognition, anyone who wants to is free to use them in hopes of conveying their situation to others. They are available free of charge for personal, non-commercial use. Any other uses, please contact me first.
Also, if you are interested in a sign with a disease or condition not already available on my Pinterest page, please feel free to message me or comment below, I would be happy to make it for you.
Dysautonomia Dorothy 