In an exclusive interview with CanadianSME Small Business Magazine, Dr. Patti Bevilacqua, Mindset Expert, Resilience Educator, and founder of fearLESS with MS, shares her powerful perspective on how businesses can move beyond legal compliance to create truly inclusive environments for employees with hidden disabilities. With over 35 years of experience, Dr. Bevilacqua discusses the importance of psychological safety, flexible leadership, and dismantling common biases to empower employees to thrive. Drawing on her own experience with multiple sclerosis, Dr. Bevilacqua offers a unique blend of academic expertise and lived experience, advocating for workplaces where vulnerability is welcomed and accommodations are built into the culture, not treated as afterthoughts. Her insights challenge leaders to think beyond traditional approaches and embrace a more human-centered leadership style, one that cultivates trust, well-being, and genuine inclusion.
Dr. Patti Bevilacqua is a Mindset Expert, Resilience Educator, and Hidden Illness Warrior with 35+ years of experience helping individuals turn life’s biggest “nos” into new possibilities. With a PhD in Teacher Development from the University of Toronto and former Assistant Professor experience at Ithaca College, she founded fearLESS with MS, an international community of 600+ members where she teaches that “MS = Mindset Shift.” She recently placed 2nd in North America’s largest inspirational speaking competition (Speaker Slam 2025). She is a 2025 Changemaker of the Year Award nominee and a 2025 D-30 Disability Impact List Nominee. Her upcoming book “MS doesn’t define ME” launches July 1st during Disability Pride Month. With her TEDx talk and 25+ year education career, she blends academic research with lived experience to help organizations create genuine inclusion. @fearlesswithms
You often speak about the gap between legal compliance and genuine disability inclusion. In your experience, what distinguishes a workplace that truly supports employees with hidden disabilities from one that simply checks the boxes?
Let’s be real—just because a workplace installs a ramp or offers flex hours doesn’t mean it’s inclusive. That’s box-checking. Real inclusion? It’s about how safe, seen, and human people feel day in and day out. If someone’s terrified to disclose they have a hidden disability because they don’t want to be labeled as “difficult,” that’s not inclusion. That’s survival mode.
True inclusion lives in the tiny details: like when a manager actually listens instead of jumping to conclusions, or when a coworker doesn’t need a PhD to understand invisible challenges—because they’ve been trained to lead with curiosity, not judgment. And accommodations? They shouldn’t feel like some awkward “favor” someone has to beg for. They should just be… how we do things.
The most inclusive spaces don’t make people constantly wave their “I need help” flag. They already built the space with everyone in mind. The message is clear: You’re not broken. You’re part of the team.
And here’s the twist—what helps someone with a hidden disability? Usually makes life better for everyone?
Flexible thinking, real empathy, and ditching one-size-fits-all policies.
That’s not just kind.
That’s smart leadership.
Your journey includes facing seven consecutive job rejections despite outstanding qualifications. What patterns did you notice during this time, and how did these experiences shape your mission to redefine workplace inclusion?
Seven straight “no’s.” Not because I lacked qualifications—I had the degrees, the passion, and a résumé that spoke for itself. But I also had a limp. And a thesis title that quietly said, “This woman lives with a chronic illness.”
The pattern? Warm interviews, polite rejections. I wasn’t seen as incapable—I was seen as a liability. If I got sick, they’d be on the hook for long-term disability. And hiring someone with an unpredictable illness? That’s a gamble most institutions weren’t willing to take.
But here’s what they missed: I was a damn good PE teacher. And guess what? I’d still be a damn good PE teacher even if I had to teach while sitting in a chair. Or if I adapted my lessons by blending solid pedagogy with student-led demonstrations. Creativity in delivery doesn’t mean less impact—it means more inclusive learning.
Now, I help workplaces stop fearing unpredictability and start having real, appropriate conversations. Start by asking the candidate: What challenges do you anticipate? What are your solutions? Because we don’t need pity—we need to be asked how we can bring our brilliance to the table. And trust me—we will.
Invisible disabilities present unique challenges in hiring and advancement. What are the most common hidden biases or mistakes organizations make, and how can small businesses begin to address them effectively?
Invisible disabilities are tricky—not because they’re hard to accommodate, but because they challenge people’s assumptions.
Mistake #1? Assuming that if someone looks fine, they must be fine. We’re wired to believe what we can see. So when someone walks in smiling but is silently battling chronic pain, bone-deep fatigue, or brain fog that makes forming a sentence feel like climbing Everest—people shrug it off. No limp? No cast? Must not be serious. That kind of invisible doubt is exhausting. You end up spending more energy proving you’re unwell than doing the job.
Mistake #2? Thinking accommodations are complicated or expensive. Most aren’t. Try “no-meeting Mondays” for post-exertion crashes. Walking meetings. A “lights-off” option with a desk lamp. Or one of my favorites—let folks record presentations instead of doing them live. Same message, less anxiety, more impact.
The real bias? Believing productivity only looks one way—fast, loud, always-on.Small businesses have the chance to do better. Start with curiosity, not assumptions. Ask what helps people thrive. Then actually listen. Because when you build flexibility into your culture, you don’t just support people with hidden disabilities—you create space for everyone to shine.
Psychological safety is crucial for employees with hidden health challenges. What practical steps can managers and leaders take to create environments where team members feel safe disclosing and seeking support?
Psychological safety isn’t a perk—it’s the permission slip to be real. And for folks living with hidden health challenges, it can be the difference between surviving and actually showing up.
So how do you create that kind of space? Start by being human. Leaders—go first. Share a time you struggled. Drop the perfection act. When you’re real, it gives everyone else permission to be real too.
Next: ask better questions. Not “Do you have a disability?” but “What helps you do your best work?” Boom—door opened, stigma lowered.
And if someone trusts you enough to share? Believe them. Don’t ask for receipts. Say, “Thanks for telling me. Here’s what I can offer—what else would help?”
Make flexibility part of the culture, not some awkward exception. Let breaks be breaks. Respect energy dips. Cameras off? Fine. Midday nap to recharge? Also fine.
Bottom line: people shouldn’t have to break down to get support. Build trust before the crisis. When folks feel safe to speak up without fear of being judged, sidelined, or whispered about—they stop hiding.And when they stop hiding? That’s when the magic happens. That’s when your team really shows up.
Finally, what advice would you offer to small and medium-sized business leaders who want to move beyond compliance and create cultures where all employees—especially those with invisible disabilities—can thrive?
Wanna move beyond compliance? Then stop being a rule-follower and start being a people-first rebel.
Checking boxes keeps the legal team happy. But if you want your team to thrive—especially folks with invisible disabilities—you’ve gotta create a space where they don’t have to fake fine to fit in.
Here’s the real talk: don’t wait until someone’s in a full-blown crash to check in. Build a culture where “I’m struggling today” doesn’t feel like a confession. Believe people the first time. No proof. No guilt. Just trust.
Ditch the one-size-fits-all nonsense. Someone might need more breaks throughout the day. Someone else might crush it working from bed in fuzzy socks. Maybe it’s fewer Zooms, more voice notes, or “no-meeting Mondays” to recharge. If it works, it works.
And here’s the kicker—when you make space for real humans to show up as they are? Everyone wins. You don’t just reduce burnout—you unleash loyalty, creativity, and fire.
So sure, follow the rules. But then break the ones that never made sense for real people anyway. That’s not just inclusion—it’s leadership that actually gets it. And that? That’s how you build something that lasts.
