Anyone with an invisible disability is still an easy target by the misinformed and judgmental

Recently, a friend of mine with an Acquired Brain Injury told me about the aspersions many people were casting upon her character due to her being on a Disability Support Pension (DSP).

A number of different individuals who had come into contact with her had suggested, either directly or obliquely, that since her condition was not apparent (hence the description invisible disability), she should be looking for paid employment. I was incensed!

This young woman has a number of neurological and neuro-psychological impairments as a result of complications from a stroke some years ago.

The myth of bludging on the pension

A pension is not based on flimsy, unsubstantiated medical grounds. Even a person with a documented long-term illness cannot necessarily receive a disability pension.

The impairment needs to meet a large number of criteria which impact on the capacity to find work and hold a job. The disability is usually permanent with little or no chance of recovery, therefore preventing the person from being employed.of cognitive problems such as fatigue, lack of concentration and memory problems.

A bit of politics & philosophy

Modern economics, and to a large extent our politics, is based on harnessing the usefulness of others. The danger of this approach is a potential lack of humanity if the individual becomes nothing more than a cog in the machinery. Taken to an extreme, this approach means that people with a disability have no worth in society if they are unable to work for a wage. At the very least, it means many will judge those of us with an “invisible” disability like a brain injury. Surely if we look “normal” then we must be cheating the system if we are on a pension!

A lack of understanding

The finger pointing levelled at my friend is not really about her, but rather about the lack of understanding that exists in the wider community. The Great Depression of the 1930s led to the provision of social welfare for the sick, elderly and unemployed where there was a genuine need. My friend does not need to hang her head in shame. She can be thankful that there are enough citizens out there who want to have the safety net of social security in place for people like her who fall through the cracks of societal expectations.

Article originally printed in Synapse Bridge Magazine Volume 15

Gerowyn Hanson is a regular contributor to Synapse and passionate advocate for people with a disability. This is article is adapted from her blog which you can visit at gerowynhanson.wordpress.com