by Lynda Kohn

Created on: December 08, 2008

nvisible disabilities are just as much disabilities as ones that are visible. I hope it doesn't surprize you that persons with non physical disabilities can be as disabled as those that are easily seen. Its clear that persons who are crippled or otherwise physically maimed present with a disablity. However whether a handicap is visable or not, doesn't make it any less an impairment to the individual. By invisible disabilities I am referring to sensory, developmental and psychiatric disabilities. These categories are not meant to exhaustive. It is only my way of expressing a disability that is not easily viewed. One may say deafness is a physical disability since they involve a physical part of the body. In this ears for hearing loss. Its the manifestations of these conditions that are noticed by others. Most people with deafness have normal looking ears. It only when one notices a hearing aid than the conclusion of being deaf comes by.

This example of hearing problems relates to my father's side of my family. There is a genetic disorder that runs in his side. Its known as Waardenburg syndrome. There are six different types. Type1, Type2, Type2A, Type2B, Type3. Type2A and Type2B can be differentiated by genetic testing. My father and I were diagnosed with WS2. WS2 is one of the leading causes of congenital deafness. With eighty percent of people with WS2 born with various degrees of hearing loss, WS is one of the leading causes of being born deaf. Specifically there are two main types of being deaf. There is conductive. There is senseoneural. The former is difficulty or unable to hear sounds. Senseoneural is not being capable of correctly hearing sounds or words. This is where we get the old joke. The heaing man says to the senseoneural deaf man "What time is it. The senseoneural deaf man replies with "What kind is it. I don't know." Okay not the best joke. Hopefully it illustrates the main pitfall of SN Hearing loss, the mishearing of what somebody says.

There's been numerous experiences with people telling me I'm ignoring them or lost in my thoughts. The issue is if you're not facing me there's difficulity for me in making out your words. I am not being stubborn. However since I don't look like I'm disabled people don't realize my issue.

I can't say I look perfectly normal since part of my syndrome is different colored eyes or as my late hubby said "Unmatching irises." The medical term is heterochromatica iridis. But that's another subject.

One other main

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