{"id":283,"date":"2026-05-22T00:25:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T00:25:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rjsupport.org\/?p=283"},"modified":"2026-05-22T00:25:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T00:25:23","slug":"making-invisible-disabilities-visible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rjsupport.org\/fr\/making-invisible-disabilities-visible\/","title":{"rendered":"Making invisible disabilities visible"},"content":{"rendered":"

Living with an invisible condition like autism can make dealing with daily tasks a lot harder. Add to this the co-morbid conditions that many of us face including ADHD, anxiety and OCD it can make the neurotypical world very had to navigate, and we often end up spending a lot of time explaining things or apologising.

I was introduced to the sunflower lanyard several years ago, well before my autism diagnosis. I was traveling for a block course for study and going through Airport security which always puts me on edge but the Agent I dealt with that day made things even worse and my anxiety just went through the roof. I ended up providing written feedback and got a call from AirPort staff who apologised and on the call they advised me of the sunflower lanyard which had been rolled out at Wellington Airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Hidden Disability lanyard and card <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I was sent the lanyard and have used it several times when flying for block courses or personal reasons. I went through security at Christchurch Airport and had my lanyard on. After going through security one of the Aviation Security Officers advised me if I needed a quiet spot there was a lounge around the side with softer lighting, etc.
Air New Zealand promote the lanyards and if traveling and that they indicate to staff that the individual may:
— Need more time to process information or more time to prepare themselves at check-in, boarding or disembarking<\/p>\n\n\n\n