It is important to recognize that all disabilities are on a continuum, hence we talk about visual impairment, rather than blindness and hearing impairment rather than deafness.
Physical disabilities restrict movement or impair control of voluntary movement.
Examples include:
Hearing disabilities affect a person's ability to hear in the same way that most people do.
Examples include:
Individuals with cochlear implants may have some of their hearing restored, but often still need accommodations and accessible material to be able to fully get the benefit of information typically conveyed through sound.
People with disabilities affecting their sight may not be completely blind. They may need glasses or contacts, they may have trouble distinguishing color. They may have tunnel vision or need large text or a way to magnify text. Some may have difficulty reading text when the contrast ratio between the background and the text color is not great enough.
Individuals with speech disabilities experience challenges in forming words and sounds that are understandable by most people.
Cognitive disabilities include a wide range of mental disabilities.
Examples include:
Last Updated: April 16, 2018
