What is disability?
In Australia, the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) defines disability as:
- total or partial loss of the person’s bodily or mental functions
- total or partial loss of a part of the body
- the presence in the body of organisms causing disease or illness
- the malfunction, malformation or disfigurement of a part of the person’s body
- a disorder or malfunction that results in the person learning differently from a person without the disorder or malfunction
- a disorder, illness or disease that affects a person’s thought processes, perception of reality, emotions or judgment, or that results in disturbed behaviour;
There are many different kinds of disability and they can result from accidents, illness or genetic disorders. A disability may affect mobility, ability to learn things, or ability to communicate easily, and some people may have more than one. A disability may be visible or hidden, may be permanent or temporary and may have minimal or substantial impact on a person’s abilities.
Although some people are born with disability, many people acquire disability. For example, a person may acquire a disability through a workplace incident or car accident, or may develop a disability as they age.
Who are people with disability? Disability is part of human diversity. Over 4 million people, almost one in five people in Australia, have a disability and this proportion is increasing with an ageing population. People with disability purchase consumer goods, have jobs, go on holidays, access information and contribute to society in the same way that people without disability do. The only difference is that often people with disability come up against significant barriers while trying to do the things that many of us take for granted.
Types of disability 17.7% of the Australian population live with disability. Disability can be visible or non-visible, with a higher prevalence of non-visible disability in Australia. Disability can be inherited or acquired (due to illness or injury) and can be temporary or permanent.
The breadth of impairments and medical conditions covered by the DDA are set out below:
- Physical - affects a person's mobility or dexterity
- Intellectual - affects a person's abilities to learn
- Mental Illness - affects a person's thinking processes
- Sensory - affects a person's ability to hear or see
- Neurological – affects the person’s brain and central nervous system,
- Learning disability
- Physical disfigurement
- Immunological - the presence of organisms causing disease in the body
To be deemed a disability, the impairment or condition must impact daily activities, communication and/or mobility, and has lasted or is likely to last 6 months or more.
People with disability are part of every section of our community: men, women and children; employers and employees; students and teachers; indigenous and non-indigenous; customers; and citizens. No two people with the same disability experience their disability in the same way.
The only thing that distinguishes a person with disability is they may require some form of adaptation/adjustment to enable them to do certain things in the same way as people without disability.
Source: Australian Network on Disability
Support children with a disability might need
- physical support
- behavioural support
- health support
- emotional support
- family support
- therapeutic support
- day support
- financial support
- advocacy
- transport