What is disability?
Every body and mind is a little different. An impairment is a long-lasting difference or loss in the body, senses or mind. Examples: not being able to walk, to see, to hear, to learn quickly, or to manage strong feelings.
A disability appears when an impairment meets a barrier in the world. So we can write it like this:
Impairment + barrier = disability
Example: a person who cannot walk meets stairs. Stairs are the barrier. With a ramp the barrier is gone and the person enters easily.
- The medical view looks at the person's body and asks "How can it be treated?"
- The social view looks at the world and asks "What can we change so that everyone can take part?"
Both help. Medicine can treat or train. But the social view reminds us that buildings, rules and attitudes can also be changed.
Facts: about 1 in 6 people in the world lives with a significant disability (World Health Organization). Some disabilities are from birth, some come from accident or illness, and many come with old age. Some can be seen. Some are invisible, for example deafness, epilepsy, long-term pain or a mental health condition.
Kinds of disability and daily life
Disabilities are grouped by what is affected. A person can have more than one.
- Movement (physical): difficulty walking, using hands or balancing. Support: wheelchair, walking stick, ramp.
- Seeing: blind or low vision. Support: white cane, braille, screen reader, large print.
- Hearing and speech: deaf, hard of hearing, or difficulty speaking. Support: hearing aid, captions, sign language, picture cards.
- Learning and thinking (intellectual): needs more time to learn or to understand. Support: simple words, pictures, patient teaching.
- Mind and feelings (mental health): for example depression or anxiety. Support: kind listening, counselling, medicine, a calm routine.
- Long-term illness: for example diabetes, epilepsy or kidney disease. Support: regular care and flexible schedules.
Daily functioning. Experts check what a person can do in everyday life. Basic daily tasks: eating, moving about, washing, dressing, using the toilet, talking. Extra daily tasks: cooking, shopping, handling money, using a phone, travelling. Where a task is hard, we ask: which tool or helper makes it possible? Examples: a spoon with a thick handle, a grab rail in the bathroom, a talking phone, a helper for shopping.
The aim is independence with dignity: do as much as you can yourself, get help only where you want it.
Barriers and support
There are four common kinds of barrier.
- Physical: stairs, narrow doors, high counters, broken footpaths.
- Information: notices without captions, websites a screen reader cannot read, forms in tiny print.
- Attitude: pity, staring, low expectations, "he cannot do it", leaving a child out of games.
- Rules and systems: an exam with no extra time, a job that asks for something not really needed, no money for support.
And there are four kinds of support to match: ramps and lifts, captions, braille and sign language, respect and high hopes, and tools and helpers such as wheelchairs, hearing aids, screen readers and personal assistants.
Reasonable accommodation means a fair change for one person, such as extra exam time. Universal design means making things usable by everyone from the start, such as a ramp that also helps parents with prams and people with heavy luggage.
The lives and rights of people with disabilities
People with disabilities go to school, work, marry, play sports, make art, vote and run businesses. Their lives are as full as anyone's when barriers are removed. Common challenges are: not being able to reach school or work, lower pay, loneliness and being treated as a child.
Rights. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006) says that people with disabilities have equal rights to education, work, health care, a family and a say in decisions. Many countries have their own laws: for example India's Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 (it lists 21 kinds of disability and supports education and jobs), and Japan's law against discrimination on grounds of disability (2016). Laws differ, but the idea is the same: equal chance and no discrimination.
Independent living means making your own choices about where and how to live, with the support you need. The slogan of the movement is: "Nothing about us without us."
How to be a good friend or helper.
- Speak to the person, not only to the helper beside them.
- Ask "Would you like help?" before helping, then listen to the answer.
- Use respectful words: "a person who uses a wheelchair", not "wheelchair-bound" or "suffering from".
- Never touch a wheelchair, cane or guide dog without permission.
- Keep paths clear, and speak clearly and face the person if they lip-read.
Try it
In the 3D: in the last step, press Ramp, Captions, Respect and Support tools one by one. Which button moves Asha? Which buttons change the "taking part" bar but not her place? Note what each tile (eat, move, wash, dress, talk) needs to turn green.
At home or school: walk around your school with a "barrier map". Mark stairs, narrow doors, tiny-print notices and places with no seat. Then write one fix for each. Do not photograph people without asking.
Key formulas and definitions
- Impairment = a long-lasting difference in body, senses or mind
- Impairment + barrier = disability
- Barrier kinds: physical, information, attitude, rules
- Daily tasks: eat, move, wash, dress, toilet, talk
- Reasonable accommodation = a fair change for one person
- Universal design = made for everyone from the start
Worked examples
1. A girl who is deaf joins your class. Name two barriers and two supports.
Barriers: a teacher who speaks facing the board (she cannot lip-read), videos with no captions. Supports: captions or a sign-language helper, the teacher facing the class and writing key points on the board, a friend who taps her shoulder to get her attention.
2. Sort into physical, information or attitude barrier: (a) a shop with a step at the door, (b) a bus stop that gives time only by voice, (c) "He will never manage a job."
(a) physical, (b) information (a deaf person cannot hear it; add a screen), (c) attitude.
3. Mr Rao has a stroke and now finds dressing and cooking hard. How can he stay independent?
Find which tasks are hard (dressing, cooking). Use easy tools: shirts with big buttons or Velcro, a stool in the kitchen, a pot with a handle that locks, a helper only for heavy tasks. Practise with a therapist. Ask him what help he wants, because it is his life.
Common mistakes
- Thinking disability is only inside the person. The world's barriers matter just as much.
- Saying "suffering from" or "wheelchair-bound". Use respectful words: "uses a wheelchair".
- Helping without asking, or talking to the helper instead of the person.
- Thinking all disabilities can be seen. Many are invisible, such as deafness, epilepsy or anxiety.