Living with an Invisible Disability | Sarah Skinner | TEDxYouth@Dayton

We may all seem the same on the surface, but we all have a different perspective. Here is the viewpoint of a teenager who lives with a serious medical condition you don't see.

Sarah Skinner is sophomore at Kettering Fairmont High School. She enjoys marching band and plays the piano. Her favorite subject is math and she plans to be an engineer. Sarah's favorite activity is playing with her dog and hanging out with her friends.

[_skinn_er]

Sarah is my sister. (Yes I am the one she mentions in her talk.) I am very glad TedxYouth Dayton gave her this opportunity to speak. As she mentioned in her talk, recognizing invisible disabilities is just as important as recognizing "obvious" or visible disabilities.

[thoruramspeaking]

So many people are being criticized for not "looking" disabled. It warms my heart to see such a powerful young woman taking the reins to spread awareness. Good for you! 💛

[lifechoices]

It has been my personal experience too that invisible handicaps are more difficult to live with.Others don't believe you when you tell them that you have a disability.But these videos also teach that we should strive to be overcomers.

[jshir]

*Some disabilities are invisible, your reaction to them is not.*

[anna-mackk]

Feeling down about my chronic illness and watching videos, it made me perk up when she mentioned Cincinnati children's because that's my hospital! I'm glad i was able to find another teen I could relate my illness too

[MrsBoogie]

She made very good points about invisible illnesses. I suffer from chronic pain myself, several bulging discs and degenerative disc disorder in my neck along with narrowing and flattening of my spinal cord. I also severe TMJ (jaw pain and very limited opening). I also have pretty severe depression and anxiety, some of which stems directly from living with chronic pain, and I also have high blood pressure. I'm 32, so none of this is fun and it's definitely frustrating sometimes that people can't see my issues. However, I so have to strongly disagree with her statement that "all disabilities are the same and one is not worse than another. They are all equally as bad." I think she was going for a specific point here, but that statement is really misinformed. Yes, all disabilities deserve acknowledgement, respect, accommodations, etc, but there are some higher functioning than others. Some that require countless hours and me dollars to maintain. Some that limit a person's ability to work or to have a family, etc. I'm thankful every day that I have the mobility I have. Yes I'm limited in my daily activities, but I can walk and play with my kids. I would never say my issues are just as bad as someone with a life threatening or otherwise severe disability or illness.

[saraelizabethdiamond]

I liked your talk. So honest and authentic- I also have a invisable disability and you spoke well! Best to you- keep on telling your and your bros story!

[kristenfuchs]

Thank you for sharing this story - everything said about chronic health conditions and invisible disabilities is something that more people should speak out about. The challenges of having a chronic disability is difficult - add to it being an invisible disability and being young becomes a challenge in and of itself. People say "you're too young to have so many medical problems" and they say it in a way that is like - they'll believe it when they see it. So many chronic health conditions & diseases that are invisible disabilities are extremely challenging and they affect the quality of life for so many people. There is much to be said on this topic and I think this young lady is a pioneer for spreading awareness of this issue.

[miraalfano]

Sarah is someone that’s been there for me for so much and she is such an understanding and compassionate person. I’m so proud to see her up on a stage speaker her mind

[kristalehrhardt]

She is a fantastic speaker for someone so young.

[Dazyredfox]

This is an excellent & very honest talk. Very well said, hopefully she knows how appreciative some are to hear this & know their not alone. 💞

[spamuelito]

once she said she was diagnosed with Long QT syndrome I was so damn excited. I have the same issue and I too take a beta blocker. Even better yet, I was in band throughout highschool, colorguard specifically. Everything she described is accurate and I can feel her pain once she discussed the struggles she has to face that others take for granted. She did an amazing job 💕

[shayelea]

I started a beta blocker and an ACE inhibitor at the age of 24. Should have been much earlier, but it took a long time to figure out what was wrong with me as my EKGs are normal...had to have an echocardiogram! Fortunately these drugs are usually well tolerated and have made a huge difference for me. But yes, there’s no such thing as “too young to be sick” and there’s no such thing as “looking disabled.” Anyone could have a disability - if they’ve adapted well and are ‘abled-passing’ you might even know them pretty well and have no idea.

[slkslkslk]

dear Sarah, how do you keep your heart rate steady standing on that stage! you're unbelievably brave! God bless you and Justin!

[fliskography]

She is so young, its so great that she supports her family and is so ambitious. Very inspirational for my vlogs. Thank you for sharing!

[YNergy]

GREAT vid! It is incredibly difficult living w/disabilities - thank you so much for doing this talk!

[laurieberry]

I got three invisible disabilities. I am afraid to tell people who I don’t know. A lot of times, I feel like exploding. I have chronic insomnia. I am not sure why. I have some kind of lung condition. I grew up healthy. Maybe I was
healthier than most kids and young people. Now, I am frustrated with my bronchioctisis. It ruined my pride. My pulmonary doctor retired. He understands what it’s like to have this better than everyone else. Now he retired. I hope that you will live a long life. I am sorry for your suffering. I hope that you feel better.

[Emily-eqts]

I have an invisible disability that I was diagnosed with when I was six months old, and when we go on holiday we sometimes get stopped, because I’m not in a wheelchair anymore even though I still get the side effects of my surgery, and people think I’m just wearing a lanyard but not disabled. One time they got my dad to drink half of the medicine I needed before letting us through. I don’t know what they thought it was but they actually said I looked fine. I loved this talk and it just reminded me of that. Half of my meds. Gone. For a two week holiday

[lynntrafford]

What a inspirational young lady, and her brother also x we complain about silly things all the time, instead we should be blessed to be healthy x my daughter had a brain tumour removed when she was 3 years she is 34 now x she has 3 chronic conditions. She is always in and out of hospital x But in all these years I have never heard her complain about anything to do with her health x she is my absolute hero x I tend to find children and young adults that have chronic illness never do complain they have this special power with in them selfs to get on with life and cope x Beautiful young girl x x 🥰

[trezip]

Very brave young lady. Your family must be very proud. I liver with an "invisible disability" and you are so right about people not being able to quite grasp 100% some things when they can't see them.