Disability Information

Disability

Disability is the consequence of an impairment that may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental, or some combination of these that result in restrictions on an individual's ability to participate in what is considered "normal" in their everyday society. A disability may be present from birth, or occur during a person's lifetime.
Disabilities is an umbrella term, covering impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions. An impairment is a problem in body function or structure; an activity limitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action; while a participation restriction is a problem experienced by an individual in involvement in life situations. Thus, disability is a complex phenomenon, reflecting an interaction between features of a person’s body and features of the society in which he or she lives.
— World Health Organization, Disabilities Disability is a contested concept, with different meanings for different communities. On the one hand, it may be used to refer to physical or mental attributes that some institutions, particularly medicine, view as needing to be fixed (the medical model); it may refer to limitations on participation in social life imposed on people by the constraints of an ableist society (the social model); or the term may serve to name a social identity claimed by people with disabilities in order to mark their shared goals and politics.
The contest over disability's definition arose out of disability activism in the U.S. and U.K. in the 1970s, which challenged how medical conceptions of human variation dominated popular discourse about disabilities and how these were reflected in common terminology (e.g., "handicapped," "cripple"). Debates about proper terminology as well as over appropriate models and their implied politics continue in disability communities and the academic field of disability studies. In many countries the law requires that disabilities be clearly categorized and defined in order to assess which citizens qualify for disability benefits.

Background Information on Persons with Disabilities
The Best States for People with Disabilities
Benefits, Facts & Resources for Persons with Disabilities
California State Disabil ity Insurance
Center for Parent Information and Resources
Children's Disability Information
Federal Government Benefits
Handicapped Information
Information for Disabled Persons
People with Disabilities
Social Security Disability Benefits
Social Security Disability Benefits Guide Calculator
Resources for Students with Disabilities

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