disability

Limitation of a person's ability to carry out the activities of daily living, to the extent that he or she may need help in doing so.

In many countries, people with disabilities are entitled to a range of benefits, including attendance and mobility allowances, concessions in parking and on public transport, and others. Many countries have also passed ‘equal opportunities’ legislation to ensure that people with disabilities are not discriminated against in the workplace.

Among adults the commonest disability is reduced mobility. Other common disabilities are in hearing, personal care, dexterity, and continence. Most disabilities arise from debilitating illness such as arthritis or stroke, although injury is also a leading cause. Other forms of disability are recognized in children: developmental disability is the failure to achieve a normal level of competence in some aspect of behaviour during infancy, childhood, or adolescence; a learning disability in a child of normal intelligence is a difficulty in acquiring one of the basic cognitive skills of speaking, reading, writing, or calculation.