Kelsey Timms, aged 25 and a mum of two, is urging businesses to adopt the ‘hidden disability scheme’ currently being trialled across 40 branches of Sainsbury’s supermarket nationwide.
Timms has told reporters that she was shopping with her two children in one of these Sainsbury’s branches, in Welwyn Garden City close to Potters Bar, when she noticed a sign promoting ‘help for hidden disabilities’ – a method used by many companies. Campaigns such as this can use banner printing services for promotional purposes.
This scheme involved the distribution and displaying of lanyards decorated with sunflowers. The wearing of such a lanyard would indicate to employees of the supermarket and fellow customers that the wearer, or someone the wearer is with, has some form of invisible disability and may welcome an offer of assistance.
Store manager Richard Hulbert has said:
“It’s great to see that a simple initiative such as this can make a real difference to the experience of our customers who might find the supermarket environment challenging at times.”
Timms was greatly inspired by the scheme. With a son suffering from ADHD, she told reporters that she had first-hand experience of people failing to understand the reasons behind her son’s behaviour.
She is now petitioning for more businesses to adopt the hidden disability scheme to increase the effectiveness of the sunflower lanyards in the recognition and understanding of invisible disabilities.