Invisible Cost of Disability

The additional time, energy, money, and cognitive effort that people with disabilities must expend to accomplish tasks that non-disabled people can complete without such overhead. In workplace contexts, these costs include purchasing extra assistive technology and software, spending hours researching accessible alternatives, using multiple devices simultaneously as workarounds for inaccessible systems, hiring sighted assistants for visual tasks, and paying for specialised training. For self-employed individuals with visual impairments, these invisible costs are particularly acute because there is no employer to provide accommodations — every accessibility barrier translates directly into a personal expense. The term highlights how disability-related expenses are largely unrecognised by society and unsupported by mainstream business infrastructure.