Impairments can be classified into four main groups: physical, sensory, psychosocial and intellectual. Some are present from birth, while others may be acquired later in life as the result of illness, injury or just from getting old. Remember also that some people may be affected by more than one impairment.
Physical impairments
These are conditions that cause difficulties in walking and other movements such as holding or grasping and may affect coordination and the ability to perform physical activities. Several different diseases can affect joints or muscles of the arms or legs such as polio, which causes paralysis. Other conditions affect the nervous system, for example spinal injury, stroke and leprosy. This group also includes loss of limbs.
Sensory impairments
These are impairments that affect sight, hearing or speech.
- Visual impairments are partial or total loss of the ability to see, and therefore read. Visual impairments can range from low vision, meaning the person has some limited or poor sight, through to total loss of vision.
- Hearing impairment refers to various degrees of loss of hearing. Mild hearing loss means the person has difficulty with very quiet sounds such as whispering. People with moderate hearing loss find it difficult to join in a normal conversation and severe hearing loss means only loud sounds can be heard.
- Speech impairments affect the ability to communicate. People with this type of impairment may have difficulty with the production of sound, for example, they may be unable to produce clear and distinct words with their voice or may stammer.
Psychosocial impairments
Psychosocial impairments include many different mental health conditions that affect a person’s behaviour and their ability to function and participate in society. Examples include anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia. This sort of impairment may be acute (episodes that may be severe but are short-lived) or chronic (continuous or lasting a long time).
Intellectual impairments
Intellectual impairments refer to many different types of lifelong limitation that may affect a person’s ability to understand new or complex information, to communicate with other people or to look after themselves. People affected by this sort of impairment may require supervision from someone else to help them with daily activities.
Which of these four different types of impairment are most likely to affect inclusion in WASH?
Physical impairment affecting a person’s ability to walk would limit access to WASH facilities if there are steps or steep slopes; impairments affecting the hands could prevent someone turning a tap or holding a water container. Visual impairment could make it difficult for someone to walk safely to a facility and use it. Intellectual impairments may make it difficult for someone to understand about good hygiene practices. Other types of impairment may not affect accessibility to services directly but they could all prevent someone from participating in discussions and meetings. Remember from Study Session 1 that inclusion means both access to services and participation in processes.
FAQs
As traditionally used, impairment refers to a problem with a structure or organ of the body; disability is a functional limitation with regard to a particular activity; and handicap refers to a disadvantage in filling a role in life relative to a peer group.
What is the record of impairment for disability? ›
“Record of” means that the person has a history of, or has been misclassified as having, a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, even though the person does not currently have a disability.
What counts as a disability? ›
An individual with a disability is defined by the ADA as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived by others as having such an impairment.
How do you determine disability percentage? ›
The VA's calculations use a percentage of the Veteran's remaining non-disabled percentage when adding the next disability percentage. For example, if a veteran had three disabling conditions rated at 30%, 20% and 20%, the VA would first apply the largest percentage, 30%.
What is an example of impairment and disability? ›
According to the World Health Organization, disability has three dimensions: Impairment in a person's body structure or function, or mental functioning; examples of impairments include loss of a limb, loss of vision or memory loss. Activity limitation, such as difficulty seeing, hearing, walking, or problem solving.
What does impairment level mean? ›
An impairment rating is a measure of the level of impairment, so the worker, employer, and insurance company can all understand the severity of the injury. They may determine that you are partially or totally disabled because of your workplace injury.
What are the 4 levels of impairment? ›
Levels of Intellectual Disability
| Level | IQ Range |
|---|
| Mild | IQ 52–69 |
| Moderate | IQ 36–51 |
| Severe | IQ 20–35 |
| Profound | IQ 19 or below |
What Disabilities Are Hard to Prove? Your Guide to Invisible and Hard-to-Prove Disabilities
- Chronic Pain.
- Fibromyalgia.
- Mental Health Conditions.
- Migraine Headaches.
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
- Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS)
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)
- How Can I Qualify with a Disability That Is Hard to Prove?
Some conditions that may automatically qualify the policyholder for Social Security Disability benefits are as follows.
- Musculoskeletal system and connective problems including: Arthritis. ...
- Mental disorders including: ...
- Cardiovascular conditions and circulatory disorders: ...
- Cancer.
- Nervous system and sense organs conditions:
The majority of IDEA appropriations are allocated to states by formula to carry out activities under Part B, which covers 14 disability categories: (1) autism, (2) deaf-blindness, (3) deafness, (4) emotional disturbance, (5) hearing impairment, (6) intellectual disability, (7) multiple disabilities, (8) orthopedic ...
Similarly, traits such as irritability, chronic lateness, and poor judgment are not, in themselves, mental impairments, although they may be linked to mental impairments. Broken limbs, sprains, concussions, appendicitis, common colds, or influenza generally would not be disabilities.
Is anxiety a disability? ›
Yes, the Social Security Administration (SSA) considers anxiety a disability. However, people with anxiety may find it challenging to prove that their impairment qualifies them for monthly disability benefits.
How do you calculate disability amount? ›
The Social Security Administration (SSA) adds together the years with the highest indexed earnings and divides them by the total number of months for those years. Then, the average is rounded down to reach your AIME. Your PIA is the base amount of your benefits.
What is the disability rating scale? ›
The Disability Rating Scale (DRS) was developed and tested with older juvenile and adult individuals with moderate and severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) in an inpatient rehabilitation setting. It has 8 items that address the three original World Health Organization categories of impairment, disability and handicap.
What is a disability rating? ›
Disability Ratings
The disability rating represents the "average detriment to earning capacity" resulting from the disability or disease. The ratings are assigned in 10% increments, ranging from 0% to 100% disabled.
What is considered an impairment? ›
: the act of impairing something or the state or condition of being impaired : diminishment or loss of function or ability. … it does not help reverse the impairment of cognitive activity caused by diazepam …
What is the basic definition of impairment? ›
An impairment prevents someone from doing something, like how an eye injury can be an impairment to seeing. An impairment can also be any change for the worse. People with impairments have trouble doing something.
What are the three main types of impairments? ›
Impairments can be permanent, temporary, or situational.
What is the legal definition of impairment? ›
Impairment means an inability, or significant potential for inability, to practice with reasonable safety and skill as a result of alcohol or drug abuse, dependency, or addiction, or any mental or physical disorder or disability.
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