reSearch vol. 5, Issue 2.pmd

NIDRR Funded Projects ............................. page 2 NARIC Citations ......................................... page 2 ERIC Citations ............................................ page 4 PubMed Citations ........................................ page 5 Search Terms .............................................. page 8 In this edition of reSearch we explore invisible disabilities. Just as individuals with disabilities are unique and diverse so are the types of disabilities. Most physical disabilities are usually visibly apparent. However, there are disabilities whose symptoms are less obvious and are considered to be invisible. Examples of these “invisible” disabilities include: mental conditions such as depression, anxiety, or schizophrenia; cognitive impairments related to stroke, brain injury, or Alzheimer’s disease; and chronic pain conditions and autoimmune diseases such as fibromyalgia syndrome, reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and various others. Individuals with invisible disabilities face the same issues in function, quality of life and discrimination as individuals with obvious physical disabilities. These issues include stigmatization; interpersonal relationships with friends, family, significant others, and co-workers; employment/job retention; and educational attainment. The primary difference is additional stigmatization they face because their disability is not readily apparent. Since many individuals with invisible disabilities appear able-bodied and/or healthy they receive constant scrutiny about their disability status from family, friends, co-workers, loved-ones, and society in general. This edition of reSearch provides a “snapshot” of research on invisible disabilities. This “snapshot” presents a general overview of invisible disabilities and the everyday issues individuals may encounter. Due to the limited amount of research we did not limit the results to a specific time frame. Combined search terms for this edition of reSearch included: invisible and hidden disabilities. Both terms are used interchangeably throughout the literature. A listing of over 100 additional descriptor terms between the NARIC, ERIC, and PubMed databases can be found at the end of this document. A search of the REHABDATA database resulted in seven documents published between 1982 and 2008. The ERIC and PubMed database searches resulted in five documents between 2002 and 2009 and nine documents between 1993 and 2010, respectively. The complete citations are included in this research brief.