Common misconceptions about disability
Posted on by Felicity Miners-Jones in User experience
Disability is often misunderstood or misrepresented online and in mainstream media. In this post, we look at some common misconceptions surrounding disability.
According to the World Health Organisation, around 1.3 billion people – or 16% of the global population – experience a significant disability. This number continues to grow.
Types of disability can vary greatly from person to person, and the barriers people face can depend as much on other people’s perceptions and attitudes as on their environment or condition.
If you haven’t already, read our companion post common misconceptions about screen readers to learn more about common accessibility misconceptions.
Misconception 1: all disabilities are visible
Many people assume that disability can always be seen. In reality, this is far from true. Someone may need a wheelchair to navigate one day but be able to walk the next, as in the case of chronic fatigue. Others may experience pain, neurological, or cognitive conditions that have no visible markers at all.
That’s why accessible facilities such as toilets and priority seating on public transport often carry the message “not all disabilities are visible”; a reminder that we cannot know someone’s circumstances or needs from a visual inspection.
In the UK, the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower scheme helps people indicate that they have an invisible disability, encouraging inclusivity, acceptance, and understanding in the general population. It also has a non-visible disabilities index with details of commonly missed disabilities, how they might affect people, and assistance and support you may be able to offer.
Misconception 2: all disabilities are permanent
Disability is not always a lifelong condition. According to research from the Institute for Public Policy Research (PDF), only 17% of people with a disability were born with it; the rest acquire it during their lifetime.
A disability can be permanent, temporary, or situational, and these categories often overlap.
- Permanent disabilities are long-term conditions that are not expected to heal and may require consistent adaptations or support, such as being Deaf or having no upper body movement
- Temporary disabilities are non-permanent conditions or injuries that affect someone for a limited time, such as a broken bone or an ear infection
- Situational disabilities are a temporary inability to complete a task, caused by a specific context or environment, for example being in a noisy environment where it’s difficult to hear or being in bright sunlight where it is difficult to see a screen
If you’ve ever broken an arm, carried a baby, or been unable to read your screen in bright sunlight, you’ve experienced a form of temporary or situational disability. This shows how accessibility benefits everyone, not just people with permanent disabilities or health conditions.
These types of disabilities can overlap, meaning a person may experience more than one at the same time. For example, a blind person using a screen reader in a noisy environment with broken headphones would be experiencing a combination of permanent and situational disabilities.
It’s impossible to design for every single user experience, which is why it’s best practice to make your website or service accessible and user-friendly as possible for a wide range of people.
Misconception 3: accessibility features are only for people with disabilities
Accessibility features are often developed with disabled people in mind, but they can end up improving usability and convenience for everyone.
Captions, for example, were originally designed for D/deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers by displaying a text version of a video’s dialogue and key sounds. Today, captions are widely used by people learning new languages or people watching in either noisy or quiet environments where sound isn’t practical.
Research shows just how broad their appeal is: Verizon Media and Publicis Media found that around 85% of videos on social media are watched without sound, and 80% of viewers are more likely to watch an entire video when captions are available. Captions improve comprehension and engagement for everyone.
The same is true of many other accessibility features found in your device settings. Tools such as pinch-to-zoom, high-contrast mode, voice input, and digital assistants like Siri or Google Assistant were built to support specific access needs. Today, millions of people use various assistive technology and adaptive strategies daily because they make digital experiences more comfortable, efficient, and adaptable.
Misconception 4: people with disabilities should be seen as heroes
It’s common for well-intentioned people to describe someone with a disability as “inspirational” or “brave”. While meant as a compliment, this kind of praise treats disability as something extraordinary that must be constantly overcome. It can feel patronising, reducing people to a medical diagnosis, rather than recognising them as individuals.
For most people with disabilities, this is simply part of everyday life, and just one aspect of who they are. Often, the biggest challenges are not people's impairments, but the barriers and attitudes they encounter, such as inaccessible buildings, intrusive questions, or inaccessible digital products and services that exclude them.
People with disabilities also lead rich, varied lives that have nothing to do with disability. Read our blog post series "Meet the models", starting with Jonathan, a photographer who has ADHD to find out more about an inclusive photoshoot we ran with five people focused on their personalities, skills, and hobbies, rather than just their disability.
Misconception 5: disability inclusion is only a social issue
Accessibility and inclusion are often seen purely as ethical or compliance matters, but they’re also smart business decisions. People with disabilities represent a significant share of the global market, and organisations that fail to consider accessibility are turning away customers, employees, and opportunities.
The term "The Purple Pound" refers to the spending power of disabled households where at least one member has a disability. According to We Are Purple, more than one in five potential UK consumers has a disability. Businesses lose an estimated £2 billion every month by ignoring the needs of disabled people, and the online spending power of this group is estimated at over £16 billion.
People with disabilities are hugely influential in the workplace and contribute to the workforce of most, if not all, industries. There were 5.5 million disabled people in employment in the UK in the second quarter of 2025 according to the UK Government. In the USA, 42.2% of people aged between 16 and 24 with a disability are either actively looking for work or in employment, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Underestimating your disabled audience or customer base doesn’t just limit inclusion; it limits growth, innovation, and profitability.
Next steps
Learn about building a culture of accessibility in our blog post, and consider the Sustainable Accessibility service to ensure accessibility is part of your organisation's DNA.