The sunflower lanyard is an international symbol someone with hidden disabilities may choose to wear to show they have a disability or condition that may not be immediately apparent, and may need a helping hand and some understanding in public spaces.
Hidden disabilities awareness advocate Hannah Pearson has worn her sunflower lanyard since 2020 to show she has autism, and is working to get the word out on what it is and what it means.
"I’ve had my own conversations of people going ‘you wear makeup, you can’t be autistic,’ or ‘you go to university, make eye contact just fine, you can’t be autistic,’ because we all have perceptions of Sheldon Cooper or somebody in the media.
"However, there’s lots of people walking around with autism who may need support in the community, or who have a different hidden disability, like epilepsy for example — the lanyard just shows somebody may need help or just needs you to be aware of it."
Ms Pearson began spreading awareness for the sunflower lanyard by sharing it on her own social media channels, until she met someone with connections and sway who gave her advice on how to get real traction.
She talked to the Disability Issues Advisory Group (DIAG) before presenting to the Dunedin City Council her goal of making Dunedin New Zealand’s first sunflower city.
Ms Pearson organised meetings with organisations around the city to discuss what the lanyard is and share her own experiences.
"I would love if I could go anywhere in the city and I would know that I would be supported."
A big win for Ms Pearson was getting the Dunedin Airport on board.
Ms Pearson said experiences for someone with autism in New Zealand airports was oftentimes "a very stressful experience."
In a New Zealand airport she was patted down while wearing the lanyard, and had experiences where a hesitation at a customs check led to an uncomfortable confrontation with an employee.
"I went through the scanner and the employee noticed my lanyard, grabbed it while it was around my neck and pulled so she could read it, which was not very helpful.
"In Dubai, the staff straight away gave me priority boarding through the accessibility line and sat us in a different section — for me, when I have physical contact with somebody, I can feel that in my body for hours after, so to have that opportunity for priority, that means I could stay in my seat before anyone got on and didn’t have to worry about that."
Dunedin Airport now offers the sunflower lanyard to passengers who may need one from the customer services desk.
Both Queenstown and Invercargill airports already offer the service.
However, for Ms Pearson this was just the first win, and she hoped to see all of Dunedin — especially supermarkets, libraries and public spaces — adopt the symbol.
