Making the invisible load of disability and psychosocial conditions visible
For the disabilities, conditions and injuries that aren't always visible to the naked eye
invisibleloadOT gives clinicians, coordinators, workplaces and the people they support a structured way to capture the invisible load of disability and illness, and turn it into evidence a decision maker can act on.
Not every disability shows
A white cane, crutches, a wheelchair or a prosthetic leg tells people something before a word is said. Chronic pain, fatigue, anxiety and sensory overload don't. They can sit behind someone who looks fine.
invisibleloadOT is about the second row.
A 20 second animation with no sound.
The hardest parts don't show in a form, a phone call or a one hour assessment
The load is invisible
Fluctuating function, the effort behind tasks that look independent, masking, and the family and strategies holding things together rarely make it into a report.
Self advocacy is hardest for those who need it most
People with psychological injury, psychosocial disability, chronic illness or neurodivergence often can't explain their worst day while they're having their best one.
The people around them lack the tools
Support coordinators, support workers and many clinicians know something is missing, but don't have a structured way to capture it, or the language the NDIS and insurers respond to.
Workplaces treat it as a performance issue
Psychological injury and neurodivergence often stay invisible until someone burns out or goes on leave.
Invisible load is the effort, energy and support it takes a person to get through everyday life with a disability or condition that others can't readily see, and that a single assessment, observation or form tends to miss.
It's our practice term, not a diagnosis or a standardised measure. It brings together established research so the load can be captured in assessment and written up as evidence.
UNSEEN
Six lenses that run through every pack, program and supervision session. The first four capture the load. The last two turn it into findings and recommendations.
Uneven days
Function changes from day to day, so one snapshot misleads. Capture best, typical and worst days, and how often each happens.
Net effort
Tasks get done at a cost in time, energy and recovery. Capture the cost, not only whether the task was done.
Supports removed
Family, friends, strategies and systems do work that disappears from view. Ask what would happen without them.
Every setting
People cope in one setting at a cost in another. Look past the assessment room to home, work and the day after.
Evidence measures
Use established frameworks and measures so what you have captured holds up.
Name the need
Write findings and recommendations in functional terms a decision maker can act on.
For everyone who has to put invisible load into words
Clinicians and allied health
Templates, guides, training and supervision for capturing fluctuating function in FCAs, plan reassessments and reports.
For cliniciansSupport coordinators and support workers
The right evidence, from the right people, in the right language, and case notes that show the load over time.
For coordinators and support workersWorkplaces
Training for leaders, HR and WHS teams on recognising invisible disability and psychological injury early.
For workplacesParticipants and families
Plain language tools to describe your own load and walk into reviews and assessments prepared.
For participants and families
NDIS assessments are changing
From 1 April 2027, NDIS participants begin moving to new framework planning. From 1 January 2028, new applicants will be assessed for access with a standardised functional capacity assessment, and existing participants will be reassessed over three years.
Evidence that is specific, quantified and written in functional terms will matter more than ever, and so will people being prepared for those conversations.
Source: Securing the NDIS for future generations timeline, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. Dates may change after consultation.
Why I started invisibleloadOT
So many people on the NDIS can't advocate for themselves. Not because their needs aren't real, but because the hardest parts of their lives don't show in a form, a phone call or a one hour assessment.
As an OT, I spend hours on reports, tools and frameworks that capture that invisible load: the uneven days, the effort behind every task, the supports quietly holding things together. It's slow, careful work, and it matters. But not everyone gets that time, or a clinician who knows to look for it.
invisibleloadOT is how I share what I've built, so more clinicians can capture it and more people can describe it in their own words. Being understood shouldn't depend on who you happened to get (or on how well you can explain your worst day while you're having your best one).
Anika
Free resources
Our shop opens soon. Until then, email us and we'll send you a copy.
Ready for reassessment checklist
Six prompts for getting the bad days into an NDIS plan reassessment.
Get the checklistGetting ready for your plan reassessment
A large print guide for participants and families, with a two week record you can print.
See the guideUNSEEN one page summary
The six lenses on one page.
Request a copyMy invisible load diary
Two to four weeks of best, typical and worst days, effort and recovery, and the supports holding things up. Take it to your OT, GP, planner or assessor.
Request a copyAssessment Prep Pack
Help to get ready for an NDIS review or assessment, so you can describe your day to day life clearly.
Request a copy