Understanding different types of disabilities

Disability limits a person’s movements, some which are required to perform even the simplest of tasks. Some are born disabilities while others develop them as a result of some circumstances or with age. They include the following:

Vision impairment: This refers to people who cannot see. Vision impairment could be a cause of old age or an accident. At times, it could come even from birth.

Hearing impairment: Hearing impairments can range from being mild to extreme. Patients could either be partially deaf or completely incapable of hearing. People with this disability use some strategies including lip reading, hearing aids or sign language. For people with congenital issues like cochlear defects, there are treatments like cochlear implants.

Mental health conditions: It is a general term for the kind of illness that affects the mind or the brain. These include personality disorders, schizophrenia or even depression. This tends to affect the way a person feels or acts.

Intellectual disability disorders: A person with this disability might have issues or limitations towards skills that require a person to be street smart or help communicate in society.

Acquired brain injury: It refers to the kind of brain damage that occurs at the time of birth. It might be caused due to infections, diseases or even lack of oxygen or any other kind of trauma. It affects men more than it affects women.

Autism: This is an umbrella term used to describe disabilities like autistic disorder, Asperger’s syndrome as well as atypical autism. This disorder impacts on the way information are stored in the brain or are processed by it. Patients have difficulty in non-verbal as well as verbal communication. Social interactions tend to suffer as well.

Physical disabilities: The most common aspect of a physical disability is that some or the other part of a person’s physical function are affected. This includes mobility, stamina, dexterity, limping or difficulty in moving or enabling proper functioning of a body part.

One should be sensitive and considerate towards people who are differently abled. You can easily be of aid to a person with the disabilities mentioned above with support and patience.