What is a Disability?
Definition of Disability
The Ontario Government’s definition includes both visible and non-visible disabilities:
- Physical disability or disfigurement;
- Developmental disability;
- A learning disability, or one related to understanding and using symbols or spoken language; or
- A mental disorder.
A disability can happen to anyone at any time. Some people are born with a disability, while, for
others, it may result from an illness or accident. Disabilities may develop as a person ages. It
is entirely possible, in fact, that employees in your current workforce may develop disabilities or
medical conditions as they age.
When people think of disabilities, they often think of wheelchairs, ramps, or white canes—devices
that readily identify a person with a disability. It’s obvious when a person has an amputation,
paralysis, lack of physical coordination or a speech impediment. In other words, when most
people think of disabilities, they most often think of visible disabilities, as distinct from non-visible
disabilities
Visible and non-visible disabilities
Disability may be visible or non-visible, depending on the severity of the case involved. For
example, someone who has multiple sclerosis may be able to get around normally most of the
time, or he or she may be in a wheelchair. Cerebral palsy, as another example, is so variable
that one person with it may be able to walk and get around normally or almost normally, while
another person with a more severe form may have to use a wheelchair. Sometimes, as
with the most common type of multiple sclerosis, the disability is noticeably worse at certain
times than others: the disorder can “flare up” periodically, but then subside after a time.
