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Non-visible disabilities quiz

Try this quick quiz to test your knowledge and learn about the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower.

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You’ll need

  • Pens or pencils
  • Paper
  • Copies of quiz questions
  • Device to show video (optional)
  • Sunflower poster (optional)
Non-visible disabilities quiz
PDF – 75.5KB
Download Non-visible disabilities quiz
Non-visible disabilities quiz - answers
PDF – 108.8KB
Download Non-visible disabilities quiz - answers

Produced in collaboration with Hidden Disabilities Sunflower. 

Before you begin

  • Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. There’s also more guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples.  
  • Make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
  • Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help. 

Planning and setting up this activity

  • If anyone in the group has lived experience of disability, they could share their story if they feel comfortable to. It’s important that no one’s made to share anything they don’t want to, and no one should talk about someone else’s disability unless that person says it’s okay. All discussions should respect people’s privacy, and a person’s disability should never be disclosed without their direct consent.
  • You may wish to tell everyone about the topic in advance of the session.
  • You may need to offer reassurance to anyone who may find this topic difficult. Remember to always follow the Yellow Card.
  • Find out more about young carers and disability inclusion in Scouts. 

Running this activity 

  1. Gather everyone together and explain that you’ll be doing a quiz about non-visible disabilities. Some people use the phrase ‘hidden disability’ to describe conditions that may be non-visible or less visible than others. People might also use ‘non-visible disability’ or ‘invisible disability’ to describe them too.
  2. You may wish to watch this short video about 'What is the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower' to help explain what the Sunflower symbol is.  (44 seconds)

To watch in full screen, double click the video

 

  1. If you can't watch the video at your meeting, you could show everyone a copy of the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower poster or a Hidden Disabilities Sunflower item, such as the lanyard, if you have access to one.
  2. Ask everyone to get into small teams or pairs. You can give out paper or a printed copy of the questions, and pens or pencils.
  3. When everyone’s ready, carefully read through the multiple-choice questions. After each question, give groups time to discuss their answer and write it down. You may wish to repeat the question as needed.
  4. When everyone’s finished, share the answers and ask everyone to add up their points. Teams could swap sheets to do this.  

“Some disabilities are hidden and not immediately obvious, so you may not recognise that someone has a hidden disability, nor understand the challenges they can face in their daily life.  

The Hidden Disability Sunflower helps by discreetly indicating that the wearer has a hidden disability and may need additional support, help, understanding or just a little more time.  

So, if you spot someone who has chosen to wear the Sunflower, please be patient and ask if you can help, and don’t forget to always be kind and show respect.

The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Scheme; making the invisible visible.”

  1. How many people in the world are disabled?
    1. 1 in 6
    2. 1 in 10
    3. 1 in 25

An estimated 1 in 6 people experience significant disability. That’s about 1.3 billion people around the world. (Source: World Health Organisation - Disability factsheet)

  1. Most disabilities are visible. True or false?
    1. True
    2. False

A lot of disabilities aren't visible. You can’t always tell if someone is disabled just by looking at them. It’s estimated that up to 80% of disabled people are living with a non-visible disability. (Source: - Hidden Disabilities Sunflower - What is a hidden disability?)

  1. How many disabled people have a non-visible disability?
    1. 30%
    2. 50%
    3. 80%

Globally, it’s estimated that up to 80% of disabled people are living with a non-visible disability. That’s over 1 billion people.  (Source: Hidden Disabilities Sunflower - What is a hidden disability?) 

  1. The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower is:
    1. A yellow sunflower on a green background
    2. A yellow sunflower on a blue background
    3. A yellow sunflower on a red background
  1. People may wear the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower to let people know that they have a non-visible disability and may need:
    1. Extra support
    2. Understanding
    3. More time
    4. All of the above

It’s something that a person with non-visible disabilities can choose to wear to let everyone know that they might need extra help,  understanding or just more time.

  1. You need to show proof of your disability to be able to wear the Sunflower.
    1. True
    2. False

You don't need to show any proof to be able to wear the Sunflower. It’s there for anyone who needs it! You don’t need to have an official diagnosis, meet any criteria or show proof of your disability. 

  1. When was the Sunflower launched?
    1. 1999
    2. 2016
    3. 2023

In 2016, the Sunflower was launched at Gatwick Airport.

  1. In 2023, Hidden Disabilities Sunflower broke the world record for the longest lanyard. How long was it?
    1. 576.5 metres
    2. 2457 metres
    3. 3784.5 metres

Hidden Disabilities Sunflower is an official Guinness World Records™ holder for the longest lanyard! They broke the record in 2023, with a lanyard that was 3,784.5 metres. That’s 12 times higher than the
UK’s tallest building - the Shard in London.

  1. What’s the tagline often associated with the Sunflower?
    1. Making the invisible visible.
    2. Making disability less hidden.
    3. Growing awareness of hidden disabilities.
  1. Which of the following is NOT a reason why the sunflower was chosen as a symbol?
    1. It’s easy to recognise and spot.
    2. It’s linked to positive things like happiness, positivity and strength.
    3. It symbolises peace and calmness.

A sunflower was chosen because it suggests happiness, positivity, strength, as well as growth and confidence, and is universally known. (Source: Hidden Disabilities Sunflower - What is the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower?)

  1. Which of these could be examples of non-visible disabilities?
    1. Autism
    2. Diabetes
    3. Dyslexia
    4. Chronic pain
    5. All the above

There are lots of different non-visible disabilities and each person’s experience is unique.  You can find out more about different disabilities that are not immediately obvious to others on the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower website. 

  1. What’s the International Symbol of Access (ISA)?
    1. A person with a walking stick
    2. A wheelchair icon
    3. A hearing aid symbol

The International Symbol of Access (ISA) has been officially recognised since 1969, to indicate accessible services and facilities. It shows a wheelchair user, often on a blue background. It can be used to show accessible parking spots, accessible toilets, or on buttons for automatic doors.(Source: Rehabilitation International – Symbol of Accessibility)

  1. What percentage of disabled people in the UK use a wheelchair?
    1. 8 – 11%
    2. 27 – 30%
    3. 65 – 88%

There is no exact data, but it tends to be estimated around 8 – 11%. There’s lots of conditions that may not require a wheelchair, such as hearing loss, epilepsy, or anxiety disorders Some people may also need to use a wheelchair temporarily, such as after a broken ankle.

  1. Where can someone wear the Sunflower?
    1. At school or college
    2. At work
    3. On public transport
    4. All the above

The Sunflower can be worn anywhere. The person can choose when, where and if they want to wear it.

  1. Some people might only be disabled for a short amount of time. True or false?
    1. True
    2. False

Hidden disabilities can be situational, for example, a nut allergy, some are temporary, for example, a hip operation or an injury, such as a broken ankle; or some are permanent but do not present all the time: for example migraines or Crohn's disease. (Source: Hidden Disabilities Sunflower: In facts - the Sunflower)

  1. How big’s the tallest sunflower ever recorded?
    1. 9.17 metres
    2. 18.34 metres
    3. 3.26 metres

The tallest sunflower ever recorded was 9.17 m (30 ft 1 in). It was grown by a passionate gardener in Germany in 2014. (Source: Guinness World Records™ - Tallest sunflower)

  1. What should you do if you see someone wearing the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower?
    1. Ask them why they’re wearing it
    2. Treat them with patience and understanding, and ask how you can help.
    3. Help them straight away.

Treat everyone with respect and avoid making assumptions. Someone wears the Sunflower to show that they may need extra support, understanding or patience.

  1. Only 17% of disabled people were born with their disabilities. True or False?
    1. True
    2. False

This is true. (Source: Institute for Public Policy Research article - Work for disabled people)

Reflection

This activity was about learning about non-visible disabilities and showing respect for others. Did anything surprise you?  Had you seen or heard of the Sunflower before? Did you learn anything new? 

How does what you’ve learned or thought about link to your Scout Promise or Scout Values? People might think about the ‘help other people’ or similar wording used in their Promise, or Care and Respect parts of our Scout Values. 

What could we do so that everyone, including people with non-visible disabilities, know that they’re welcome at Scouts? What can we do to make our group welcoming and inclusive? 

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

You must run your activities in line with the Safeguarding Code of Conduct for Adults (Yellow Card) and report any concerns to the UK HQ Safeguarding Team.

Online safety

Supervise young people when they’re online and give them advice about staying safe. Take a look at our online safety or bullying guidance. The NSPCC offers more advice and guidance, too. If you want to know more about specific social networks and games, Childnet has information and safety tips for apps. You can also report anything that’s worried you online to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command. As always, if you’ve got concerns about a young person’s welfare, including their online experiences, follow the Yellow Card to make a report.

  • To make this activity easier, you could just use true or false answers. You could also reduce the number of optional multiple-choice answers to two.     

  • To make this activity more active, people could move to a  different part of the space if they think the answer is A, B, C, true or false. You could also use signals, such as hands up or response cards, for people to share their answers.

  • To make this activity harder, you could use more challenging questions or Add in another multiple choice option. 

  • If people may find it difficult to hear the questions, you could give out print outs of the quiz questions. Have large print versions available too if anyone needs them.  

  • Allow plenty of time to process each question and the multiple choices responses. Consider whether to adapt the quiz questions – for example, you could just use true and false answers. 

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Community Impact Stage 1
Community Impact Stage 2
Community Impact Stage 3
Community Impact Stage 4

Learn more about non-visible disabilities. You can find information about lots of different disabilities that have few or no outwards visible signs, on the Sunflower website. 

Plan and take action around disability and do your Community Impact Staged Activity Badge.