Two years ago, Eric, who is autistic, experienced a severe anxiety attack while on the platform of Jurong East MRT station after he discovered that he had forgotten his home keys.
Overwhelmed with emotions, the then 16-year-old collapsed on the floor, crying and shaking uncontrollably.
Desperately trying to self-regulate – a common coping mechanism for autistic individuals facing sensory overload – Eric sought out a passerby for help by running up to him in a panicked state.
But the man misinterpreted Eric’s actions as a threat to him, and promptly alerted a security guard at a nearby shopping mall to intervene. Eventually, the guard called Eric’s parents, who arrived to take him home and help him recover.
Recalling the incident in an interview with CNA TODAY, Eric (not his real name) said such moments are terrifying for him, as he is often not aware of his actions when he is in the throes of an anxiety attack, or how the public is reacting to him.
“It’s complicated because you do things you don’t mean and (these anxiety attacks emerge) out of the blue,” he said.
“When you do those things, people assume that you’re trying to hurt them, and they’ll call the authorities on you… What they don’t know is, we’re trying to express it in a way that’s understandable to us.”
Eric’s experience highlights a perennial concern: despite efforts to improve awareness, individuals with invisible disabilities – such as autism, epilepsy and intellectual disabilities – say that they still face impatience, scepticism, and exclusion.
A report released by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) in December showed that positive attitudes towards persons with disabilities (PWDs) from the public fell in 2023 compared to 2019.
The report revealed a rise in negative sentiment among the public, from 1.8 per cent to 2.5 per cent. At the same time, the proportion of people who expressed “extremely positive” or “moderately positive” feelings declined significantly, from 76.8 per cent to 68.9 per cent.
The study also revealed that autism saw the largest decrease in positive perception, from 69.9 per cent in 2019 to 56.2 per cent in 2023. People who felt negatively about those with autism shot up to 9 per cent last year from 3.8 per cent.
Negative sentiments towards those with intellectual and sensory disabilities also rose 2.4 per cent and 1.4 per cent.
In contrast, positive attitudes towards persons with physical disabilities saw a smaller dip of less than 1 per cent, from 85.8 per cent in 2019 to 84.9 per cent in 2023.
While the study does not make any conclusions about this disparity, those with disabilities that are not immediately apparent to others spoke to CNA TODAY about how such unhappy encounters in public are all too common.
This comes despite the barrage of public education efforts and social media trends that espouse greater awareness of persons with disabilities (PWDs), as well as media stories on why people should not be defined by their health conditions.
Ms Lee May Gee, chief executive officer of SG Enable, said that PWDs face various challenges across different aspects of their lives due to societal misconceptions and stereotypes.
SG Enable, a registered charity set up by the MSF in 2013, seeks to help people with disabilities live and work in an inclusive society.
However, Ms Lee added that people with invisible disabilities may face a greater lack of awareness or understanding as their disabilities “can be less evident to others”.
“Invisible disabilities” cover a range of conditions – such as autism and intellectual disabilities – that significantly impact daily life but lack outward markers, unlike physical disabilities. However, invisible disabilities exclude mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, which are not classified as disabilities in Singapore.
“To avoid stigma and discrimination, persons with disabilities may choose not to disclose their disability,” said Ms Lee. “This may result in their struggles being overlooked, which may lead to isolation and inadequate support.”
Singapore is not alone in these challenges; people with invisible disabilities face similar struggles worldwide.
In the United Kingdom, for instance, individuals with less visible disabilities frequently face workplace discrimination, with employers questioning their need for adjustments, such as flexible hours.
A 2023 UK parliamentary report found that people with these conditions said faced criticism when trying to access facilities designed for disabled people and experienced worse discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic for not wearing a mask in public.
In Eric’s case, life is rough to be on the receiving end of negativity from the public in recent years too, given his need to make some noise or seek space as a way to cope with overwhelming sensory input or emotional stress.
For instance, he would attempt to regain a sense of control and stability by shouting “go away” and try to create as much space between him and those around him.
In the past, people might give him a wider berth, but nowadays he fears being arrested or filmed and shamed on social media during his public outbursts.
“It’s hard to live my life because I don’t feel motivated to go out. I feel like doing everything at home rather than exposing myself to all the overwhelming stressors,” he said.
For caregivers, it is also frustrating to constantly shield the PWDs they are caring for from negative encounters with the public.
Yet, some public spaces remain challenging, some workplaces still lack sufficient accommodations, and asking for help from the public is often met with resistance or misunderstanding, several caregivers told CNA TODAY.
Eric’s mother said that she and her husband used to feel judged by the “stares” from others for their supposedly “poor parenting” whenever her son threw public tantrums as a child.
“We get those stares all the time. I got used to it, but now it’s different because he looks like an adult,” said the 47-year-old regional director who wanted to be known as Carrie.
Rude stares are the least of her concerns nowadays, she added.
“I fear that people might even retaliate because they think Eric is a troublemaker… If (the member of the public) is hot-tempered, he might think that Eric is doing it intentionally when he is not,” Carrie added.
To better understand the lived experiences of those with invisible disabilities and the reasons public attitudes towards them have changed over the years, CNA TODAY spoke to PWDs, their caregivers as well as disability organisations to share their stories and what can be done to move the needle.
