Seen, Supported, and Belonging: Invisible Disabilities in the Workplace
March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, a time to reflect on the full range of human experience that exists within our teams, our labs, our clinics, and our communities. For many STEM professionals, this month is personal.
Some of us live with disabilities that are never visible at a glance. We may sit in the same meetings, hit the same deadlines, and solve the same complex problems as our colleagues while quietly managing something that never fully shows up on the surface.
This post is for those people. And it is for the colleagues, managers, and teams who want to show up better for them.
What Are Invisible Disabilities?
Invisible disabilities are conditions that significantly affect a person's daily life but are not immediately apparent to others. They include a wide range of neurological, developmental, cognitive, and chronic health conditions.
In STEM workplaces, these might include:
ADHD and executive function differences
Autism spectrum conditions
Dyslexia, dyspraxia, and other learning differences
Anxiety disorders, OCD, and mood disorders
Chronic pain, fatigue conditions, and sensory processing differences
These are not edge cases. Studies consistently suggest that a significant portion of the workforce, including in research, clinical, and technical fields, lives with at least one of these conditions. Many people are undiagnosed. Many more are diagnosed but choose not to disclose.
How Invisible Disabilities Show Up at Work
Because these conditions are not visible, they are often misread. What looks like disorganization may be an executive function challenge. What seems like disengagement in a meeting may be sensory overwhelm. What reads as reluctance to collaborate may be communication style and not attitude.
The gap between what people see and what someone is actually navigating can be significant. And in high-performance environments, that gap often goes unaddressed.
STEM workplaces come with their own particular pressures: dense information environments, open office plans, frequent context-switching, high-stakes deadlines, and a culture that often prizes speed and verbal fluency. For someone managing an invisible disability, these conditions can compound quickly.
At the same time, many STEM professionals with invisible disabilities bring extraordinary strengths: deep focus, pattern recognition, creative problem-solving, and a capacity for detail that shapes some of the field's most important work. The goal is to build environments where different kinds of minds can do their best work.
Five Ways to Advocate for the Accommodations You Need
If you live with an invisible disability, advocating for yourself in a professional environment can feel vulnerable. It requires disclosing something personal in a setting that may not always feel safe. But accommodations exist for a reason, and you deserve access to the ones that help you thrive.
Here are five practical ways to start:
Know what you need before you ask. The most effective accommodation requests are specific. Take time to reflect on what actually helps whether that is a quieter workspace, written instructions alongside verbal ones, flexible meeting formats, or deadline structures that account for variable energy. You do not need a diagnosis to know what supports your best work. You do need to be able to articulate it clearly.
Understand your rights. In the United States, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for qualified employees with disabilities, including many invisible ones. Developmental and neurological conditions are often covered. Familiarize yourself with your organization's HR policies and know that the law is on your side. You are not asking for a favor. You are exercising a right.
Start with a conversation, not a formal request. Before filing paperwork, consider having an informal conversation with your manager or HR contact. Frame it around your work and what helps you do it well, rather than leading with a diagnosis. Many accommodations can be implemented informally and quickly without a drawn-out process. If informal conversations do not move things forward, then escalate through formal channels.
Find an ally inside your organization. A trusted colleague, mentor, or employee resource group can make a significant difference. They can help you think through how to frame your request, share their own experience navigating similar conversations, or simply be a sounding board. You do not have to figure this out alone. If your organization has an ERG focused on disability, neurodiversity, or employee wellbeing, that is a good place to start.
Document and follow up. Once accommodations are in place, keep a record of what was agreed to. Check in periodically to assess whether they are working and whether adjustments are needed. Needs can change over time, and so can roles and environments. Treating accommodations as an ongoing conversation rather than a one-time event helps ensure they remain effective.
A Note to the Community
If you are a colleague, manager, or team lead reading this: the most important thing you can do is create an environment where people feel safe enough to ask for what they need. That does not require a formal program or a perfect script. It requires consistency, humility, and a genuine belief that supporting people in doing their best work is part of the job.
Disability awareness is not about fixing people. It is about building workplaces where everyone has a real shot at contributing fully.
This month, we acknowledge the developmental disabilities community, and everyone who shows up to do meaningful work while carrying something the rest of us cannot see. You belong here. Your contribution matters. And you deserve the support to do your best work.
— Published in honor of Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month
