WHAT IS A DISABILITY?

 

A disability may be generally defined as a condition which may restrict a person's mental, sensory, or mobility functions to undertake or perform a task in the same way as a person who does not have a disability. It does not mean that a person with a disability is unable to function in every day living and working. It does not mean that a person with a disability is unable to fall in love and have a family with someone. 

 

We should not equate a disability with poor health. Disabilities can occur from birth because of genetic or maternal reasons, or from illnesses at or after birth. Disabilities can occur because of illness at any stage of life. Disabilities can come from accidents, violence, tobacco, betelnuts or drug and alcohol abuse. Disabilities can also occur because of a poor diet - either obesity or anorexia, from old age, depression, back pain or from high risk activities.

 

Disabilities affect people in different ways. Many people associate the 'disabled' with someone who is in a wheelchair, or who is blind or deaf. Which means that a lot of able-bodied people have the attitude that people with a disability are totally different and therefore need to be treated differently. Unfortunately, this kind of stereotyping is in itself a form of discrimination.

 

People with a disability come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colours, sex and cultures - just as we all do. The only thing that separates a person with a disability is that, for one reason or another, they are unable to do certain things in the same way as the mainstream of society. They may require some form of adaptation or alteration to assist them to overcome the effect of their disability.

 

A person's disability is always specific to that person.

 

A disability may be: 

 

• Physical - affects a person's mobility or dexterity - for example, cerebral palsy, or spinal cord injury. The person cannot use their body as well as an able-bodied person.

• Intellectual - affects a person's abilities to learn - for example, Down Syndrome or autism spectrum disorder.

• Mental Illness - affects a person's thinking processes - for example, depression, acquired brain injury, OCD or PTSD.

• Sensory - affects a person's ability to hear or see - for example, blindness, deafness, or a loss in sense of touch, smell and feel.

• Neurological – affects the person’s brain and central nervous system - for example, dementia, dyslexia, foetal alcohol syndrome, or epilepsy.

• Learning disability - for example, some people may have difficulty in understanding some concepts and may need things to be explained differently.

• Physical disfigurement - for example, amputation, cleft lip, or damage caused by burns.

• Immunological -the presence of organisms causing disease in the body - for example, cancer, arthritis, or osteoporosis.