Physical disability

{{Short description|Limitation on a person's physical functioning, mobility, dexterity or stamina}} A '''physical disability''' is a limitation on a person's physical functioning or limitations in executing activities (e.g. walking or eating).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pubsites.uws.edu.au/ndco/employment/what/physical.htm |title=What is disability? |department = Education to employment | website = National Disability Coordination Officer Program |location = University of Western Sydney | date = 2012 |access-date=January 8, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724013228/http://pubsites.uws.edu.au/ndco/employment/what/physical.htm |archive-date=July 24, 2013 }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=World report on disability |date=2011 |publisher=World Health Organization |isbn=978-92-4-156418-2 |editor-last=World Health Organization |location=Geneva, Switzerland |pages= |editor-last2=World Bank}}</ref> The term physical disability is very broad, and a range of disabilities are included. Some examples of physical disabilities include: blindness, deafness, respiratory disorders, epilepsy<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/19990909103353/http://www.csun.edu/%7Esp20558/dis/physical.html Physical Disabilities, California State University, Northridge]</ref> and some genetic disorders. The severity of impairments and restriction in daily activities vary widely between different types of physical disability. An inclusive and accessible environment may mitigate many restrictions.<ref name=":0" />

The World Health Organization does not differentiate between physical and mental disabilities.<ref name=":0" />

People with physical disabilities may face persecution and discrimination.

== Causes == Physical disabilities can be caused by a variety of factors. While some physical disabilities can be acquired before birth (pre-natal), others might be a result of a physical injury or illness (post-natal). Some disabilities may be gained before or after birth, such as vision loss.

Prenatal disabilities are acquired before birth. These may be due to diseases or substances that the mother has been exposed to during pregnancy, embryonic or fetal developmental accidents or genetic disorders.<ref name="MA" /> Perinatal disabilities are acquired between some weeks before to up to four weeks after birth in humans.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wright |first1=Joyce A. |title=Prenatal and Postnatal Diagnosis of Infant Disability: Breaking the News to Mothers |journal=Journal of Perinatal Education |date=22 January 2008 |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=27–32 |id={{ProQuest|1844560198}} |doi=10.1624/105812408X324543 |pmid=19436417 |pmc=2517190 }}</ref> These can be due to prolonged lack of oxygen or obstruction of the respiratory tract, damage to the brain during birth (due to the early umbilical cord clamping, for example) or the baby being born prematurely. These may also be caused due to genetic disorders<ref name ="MA">{{cite web|department = Bureau of Family Health and Nutrition |title=Birth Defects Research & Prevention |url=https://www.mass.gov/birth-defects-research-prevention |website=Massachusetts Center for Birth Defects Research and Prevention |publisher=Department of Public Health |access-date=27 June 2022 |location=Boston |format=Government website |date=2022}}</ref> or accidents.

Post-natal disabilities are gained after birth. Disabilities can be gained throughout the entire life. They can be due to accidents, injuries, obesity, infection or other illnesses. Research suggests the leading cause of post-natal disabilities to be road traffic injuries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Beyond the numbers: estimating the disability burden of road traffic injuries |url=https://www.gov.uk/research-for-development-outputs/beyond-the-numbers-estimating-the-disability-burden-of-road-traffic-injuries |access-date=2026-03-24 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref>

== Types == Physical disability is a broad term and includes many different types of impairments. Some might severely restrict a persons ability to execute daily functions and cause them to rely on the help of a care-taker, others might rely on assistive technology, such as a wheelchair or a hearing aid.

Mobility impairment includes limb loss or impairment,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-12 |title=Mobility disabilities types and more |url=https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/mobility-disabilities-list |access-date=2026-03-02 |website=www.medicalnewstoday.com |language=en}}</ref> poor manual dexterity, paraplegia and damage to one or multiple organs of the body. Depending on the condition, impairment varies widely in severity.

Sensory impairments include partial or complete loss of one (or more) of the senses. The most common sensory impairments are visual impairments and hearing loss. Deaf and hard of hearing people have a rich culture<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.umass.edu/magazine/fall-2018/what-my-deaf-way-science|title = What is my deaf way of science? |last= Cooke | first = Michele L. |date=2018-10-11| location = University of Massachusetts Amherst|website=UMass Magazine|language=en| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20190503205549/https://www.umass.edu/magazine/fall-2018/what-my-deaf-way-science |archive-date = 2019-05-03 |access-date=2020-04-09}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Dolnick |first1=Edward |title=Deafness as Culture |magazine=The Atlantic |date=September 1993 |volume=272 |issue=3 |pages=37–53 |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1993/09/deafness-as-culture/668630/ |url-access=subscription }}</ref> and benefit from learning sign language for communication purposes.<ref>{{cite book | first=Anna | last=Mindess | others = Sharon Neumann Solow, Thomas K. Holcomb |year=2006 | title=Reading Between the Signs: Intercultural Communication for Sign Language Interpreters | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dQk1lt0V9foC&q=Intercultural+Communication+for+Sign+Language+Interpreters | location = Boston | publisher = International Press | oclc =829736204 |isbn=978-1-931930-26-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Barnett |first1=Steven |last2=McKee |first2=Michael |last3=Smith |first3=Scott R. |last4=Pearson |first4=Thomas A. |title=Deaf Sign Language Users, Health Inequities, and Public Health: Opportunity for Social Justice |journal=Preventing Chronic Disease |date=15 February 2011 |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=A45 |pmid=21324259 |pmc=3073438 }}</ref> People who are only partially deaf can sometimes make use of hearing aids to improve their hearing ability. While tactile, gustatory and olfactory disabilities do exist, they occur less common.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is Sensory Disability? |url=https://www.adapacific.org/what-is-sensory-disability/ |access-date=2026-03-24 |website=Pacific ADA Center |language=en-US}}</ref>

Some people with disabilities might have multiple disabilities, such as one or more co-occurring cognitive and physical disability. These disabilities are usually pre-natal.{{citation needed|date=March 2026}}

== See also == *{{annotated link|Disabilities affecting intellectual abilities}} *{{annotated link|Developmental disability}} *Mental disorder – Medical condition

==References== {{Reflist}}

== Further reading == * {{cite book |last1=Grmek |first1=Mirko Dražen |last2=Gourevitch |first2=Danielle |title=Les maladies dans l'art antique |date=1998 |publisher=Fayard |isbn=978-2-213-60154-0 |oclc=300914958 }} * {{Cite Q|Q46018654}} * Mirko Grmek. (1983). ''Les maladies à l'aube de la civilisation occidentale'', Paris. * {{Cite Q|Q46213461}}

Phys Category:Disability