Understanding Disabilities 6 General Types of Disabilities 6

Understanding Disabilities 6 General Types of Disabilities

6 General Types of Disabilities • • • Physical Disabilities Visual Disabilities Hearing Disabilities Mental Health Disabilities Intellectual Disabilities Learning Disabilities

1. Physical Disabilities • Includes physiological, functional and/or mobility impairments • Can be fluctuating or intermittent, chronic, progressive or stable, visible or invisible • Some involve extreme pain, some less, some none at all

Characteristics of “Progressive” conditions and examples: • These disabilities get worse over time but can fluctuate: • Multiple Sclerosis – neurological deterioration • Muscular Dystrophy – muscular disorders • Chronic Arthritis – inflammation of the joints

Characteristics of “Non-Progressive” conditions and examples: • These disabilities are non-progressive and remain stable: • Cerebral Palsy – neurological condition • Spina Bifida – congenital malformation of the spinal cord • Spinal Cord Injury – neurological damage resulting from trauma • These disabilities are non progressive but can fluctuate • Fibromyalgia – chronic pain condition • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome – chronic fatigue condition

2. Visual Disabilities • “Legally Blind” describes an individual who has 10% or less of normal vision • Only 10% of people with visual disability are actually totally blind. The other 90% are described as having a “Visual Impairment” • Common Causes of vision loss include: • • • Cataracts – cloudy vision (treatable) Diabetes – progressive blindness Glaucoma – loss of peripheral vision Macular Detachment – blurred central vision Retinal Detachment – loss of vision Retinitis Pigmentosa – progressive blindness

3. Hearing Disabilities • “Deaf” describes an individual who has severe to profound hearing loss • “Deafened describes an individual who has acquired a hearing loss in adulthood • “Deaf. Blind” describes an individual who has both a sight and hearing loss • “Hard of Hearing” describes an individual who uses their residual hearing and speech to communicate

4. Mental Health Disabilities • Mental Health Disabilities can take many forms; just as physical disabilities do • Unlike many physical illnesses though, all mental illness can be treated • They are generally classified into 6 categories

Categories of Mental Health Disabilities • Schizophrenia – the most serious mental illness • Mood Disorders – depression is the most common mood disorder • Anxiety Disorders – include phobias and panic disorder as well as obsessive compulsive disorder • Eating Disorders – include anorexia nervosa and bulimia • Personality Disorders – many different types of personality disorders; people with these disorders usually have a hard time getting along with others; they are the most difficult to treat • Organic Brain Disorders – they are the result of a physical disease or injury to the brain (i. e. , Alzheimer’s, Stroke, Dementia)

5. Intellectual Disabilities • Characterized by intellectual development and capacity that is significantly below average • Involves a permanent limitation in a person’s ability to learn • Causes of Intellectual (or Developmental) Disabilities Include: • Any condition that impairs development of the brain before birth, during birth, or in childhood years • • • Genetic conditions Illness affecting the mother during pregnancy Use of alcohol or drugs by pregnant mothers Childhood diseases Poverty – children in poor families may become intellectually disabled because of malnutrition, disease-producing conditions, inadequate medical care, and environmental health hazards

6. Learning Disabilities • A learning disability is essentially a specific and persistent disorder of a person’s central nervous system affecting the learning process • This impacts a person’s ability to either interpret what they see and hear, or to link information from different parts of the brain • One of the most common indicators of a learning disability is a discrepancy between the individual’s potential (aptitudes and intellectual capacity) and his/her actual level of achievement • Having a learning disability does not mean a person is incapable of learning; rather that they learn in a different way • Many people with a learning disability develop strategies to compensate for or to circumvent their difficulties