“Throughout my life, I haven’t seen that representation there with people who have epilepsy. That’s been quite tricky growing up because I hadn’t seen any people that were like me,” she said.
Like many with invisible disabilities, she said she had been bullied for her disabilities and put down by those who don’t understand them fully.
“I’ve also been told by past teachers [in primary school] that I shouldn’t go for leadership roles or do certain activities because of my abilities.
“In reality, they didn’t know what I was capable of. Only I know what I can do and what my limits are.”
The podcast idea grew through both her personal passion and participation in a GirlBoss leadership programme and looks to tell honest and informational stories about those living daily with invisible disabilities.
Petrie also said it was a way of “flipping the narrative” to let others know that they weren’t alone.
“What really inspired me was how discriminated [against] people with invisible disabilities are, especially in the education system and workplace.
“It’s about spreading the message that there are people living with invisible disabilities in our society,” she said.
According to Petrie, there is also a lack of understanding around what an invisible disability actually is and how people live with them.
“An invisible disability is one that isn’t visibly obvious. It can be physical, mental, sensory, intellectual, neurological, and also [encompasses] immunological diseases and conditions as well.”
She said sometimes it could take years for some of these disabilities to be diagnosed, citing dyslexia, ADHD, epilepsy and fatigue disorders as examples.
“These disabilities aren’t often talked about as much as visible disabilities because they aren’t seen and can be tricky to diagnose.”
For future episodes of Invisible But Seen, Petrie has interviews lined up with disability advocates, who have themselves been trying to get more recognition for invisible disabilities.
“For the people who have invisible disabilities, I’ll just be asking them about their stories. [We’ll look at] what discrimination they’ve faced, how diagnosis worked and what they want to inform people about their disabilities.”
Episodes will be released every second Sunday on Spotify, and Petrie hopes the momentum will fuel a movement.
“[I want to] create a kind of world that accepts people’s differences for who they are.”
Mitchell Hageman joined Hawke’s Bay Today in late January. From his Napier base, he writes regularly on social issues, arts and culture, and the community. He has a particular love for stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
