About Disability
On average, 20% of the total Australian population has a disability (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2003) which means that they have specific requirements to access events and facilities. This percentage is similar in many countries.
A disability can affect a person's capacity to communicate, interact with others, learn or move about independently. A disability can be permanent or episodic.
Disabilities can be:
- Physical: affecting mobility and/or a person's ability to use their upper or lower body
- Neurological: affecting a person's ability to control their movements due to disorders of the nervous system, eg epilepsy or stroke
- Sensory: affecting the senses eg vision and/or hearing
- Intellectual: affecting a person's judgement, ability to learn and communicate
- Cognitive: affecting a person's thought processes, personality and memory resulting, for example, from injury to the brain, dementia, or Alzheimer's disease
- Psychiatric: affecting a person's emotions, thought processes and behaviour, eg schizophrenia or depression
- People who use wheelchairs: although the number of people who use wheelchairs is small compared with other physical disability groups, the barriers to access for this group of people are among the greatest
- People who experience difficulty walking: these people may have disabilities that arise from medical conditions including stroke, lower limb amputation, cerebral palsy, Parkinson's disease or arthritis. The description includes those who:
- Use a walking aid
- Wear a leg brace or have an artificial limb
- Have limited physical stamina
- Have stiff hips, knees or ankles
- Have uncoordinated movements
- Walk slowly, or
- Have balance problems.
- People who have difficulty holding and/or manipulating objects. This may be due to Parkinson's Disease, arthritis, nerve injuries and upper limb (finger, hand or arm) amputation.
- People with sensory disabilities These people may have partial or complete loss of sight or hearing.
- People with disabilities affecting communication and thought processes. People with a wide range of disabilities including intellectual, cognitive and psychiatric disabilities, may have significant difficulty when it comes to asking for and understanding information. Clear information also assists children and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
- People with special requirements There are many ways in which disability may affect a person's life. Whilst the degree and type of disability varies with individual circumstances, people with special requirements may experience the following:
- loss of sight (even when wearing glasses or contact lenses)
- loss of hearing
- speech difficulties in native languages
- blackouts, fits or loss of consciousness
- difficulty in maintaining stamina during long waiting periods
- slowness in learning or understanding
- difficulty making decisions
- incomplete use of arms or hands
- difficulty in holding or gripping small objects
- incomplete use of legs or feet
- difficulty maintaining orientation in unfamiliar surroundings
- People who may have in their bodies the presence of disease causing organisms (ie AIDS).
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