Asda Features Bathroom Sign Including People With 'Invisible' Disabilities

Just because disabled bathroom stalls are designed to accommodate people with physical disabilities doesn’t mean they are limited strictly to those who use assistive devices. Many people with disabilities and invisible illnesses benefit from using disabled bathrooms but feel they aren’t allow to or will be judged for using them because the sign on the bathroom door only features a person using a wheelchair.

On Tuesday, Crohn’s and Colitis UK posted a photo on Facebook of a bathroom sign at Asda, a U.K. supermarket chain owned by Walmart. Unlike the signs on most disabled stalls, Asda’s sign features the traditional male and female bathroom sign along with the symbol used for disabled bathrooms. Underneath the icons, the sign reads “not every disability is visible.” The sign was placed above the traditional disabled bathroom sign, and was meant to welcome people with invisible illnesses and disabilities to use the facilities.

This isn’t the first time an Asda store tried to create a more inclusive shopping experience. In April, a Manchester-based Asda store started offering a “quiet-hour” for customers with autism.

The Scottish parliament has also looked to make their accessible bathrooms more inclusive. Three of parliament’s accessible bathrooms feature a sign designed by 10-year-old Grace Warnock, who lives with Crohn’s disease. Warnock’s sign is similar to Asda’s sign in that it features more than a person in a wheelchair.

Crohn’s and Colitis UK applauded Asda, saying “Well done to Asda York Superstore (Monks Cross Shopping Park) for recognising that not all disabilities are visible.”

Asda could not be reached for comment.