Sunflower lanyards take off for passengers with hidden disabilities

Travelling with a hidden disability can be stressful, whether you’re taking an international flight or a bus to the next town. One in five people in the UK is living with a disability, and 80% of these disabilities are invisible. This means that you don’t give away any visual clues that you are struggling, but this doesn’t mean you aren’t facing a battle every single day. See here.

The sunflower lanyard scheme hopes to shine a light on invisible disabilities and make it easier for people to get the support they need. Travel is one area that could greatly benefit from more transparency. 

It’s not uncommon for fellow passengers to get frustrated or angry with a person they see moving too slowly or taking up a seat they don’t obviously need. But this is exactly what could happen to those with hidden disabilities. By wearing a sunflower lanyard, they can let people around them know that they need a little extra support.

How will this help with travelling?

It doesn’t matter if you’re flying to another country or heading down the road for your weekly shop, transport is incredibly stressful with a hidden disability. Boarding and alighting may take longer. You might need help getting into a seat. You might miss important instructions. And you might need a priority seat on busy transport.

By wearing a sunflower lanyard, you can communicate to the people around you that you need a little extra support. By pairing your lanyard with an alert card, you can give people more information without speaking to them. An example of this would be a card to signal that you are non-verbal or you have hearing loss.

This will quickly clear up any confusion and make it easier for the people around you to support you. Public transport staff are trained to look out for the yellow and green lanyard, so they should know exactly what it means. This will allow you to seek out support and use your sunflower lanyard to signal you need help.

Who can wear one?

There isn’t a set list of hidden disabilities, so anyone can wear a sunflower lanyard if they need support. You can buy them online and in stores. It is hoped that people won’t abuse the system, because there wouldn’t be any benefit to it. 

A sunflower lanyard isn’t a fast track pass and it won’t land you any freebies. In the context of air travel, if you haven’t paid for priority boarding, it won’t necessarily be offered to you because you’re wearing a sunflower lanyard. However, it will signal to airline staff that you might need a little extra help. 

Anyone can purchase sunflower lanyards online. It makes sense to buy a few, particularly if you’re travelling, as there’s always the chance you could misplace one. They are inexpensive and easily accessible, so you could keep one in your bag, one in your car and one in your desk at work to make sure all your bases are covered. And there are several ways to make it look good!