In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the day-to-day challenges facing autistic people and their families. One challenge is that autism is an "invisible disability," which does not have obvious physical markers.
Many people live with disabilities that are often considered invisible — ones that, unless somebody said they had them, no one would know.
This includes conditions like diabetes, vision or hearing problems, and chronic pain. There are also things like autoimmune diseases, developmental conditions — like autism spectrum disorder — and mental health issues, including anxiety and depression.
There's not an exact measurement of how many people are included in this group, as it can depend on how one defines a disability. But the CDC estimates 61 million Americans have a disability that affects major life functions, and the advocacy group Disabled World estimates about 1 in 10 Americans have an invisible disability
