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> Meaning of Disability
Meaning of Disability
To benefit from the DDA’s protection, you must either be a person who has a disability or be a person who has had such a disability. ’Disability’ means:
The Impairment
Physical impairment is not defined but is taken to refer to some damage or defect to the condition of a person’s body, which may or may not be a clinically treatable medical condition. It refers to a person having something wrong with them physically. Mental impairment, again, is not defined. It is no longer necessary for a mental impairment to be a recognised psychiatric illness but frequently medical evidence will be required in order to show whether or not there is a mental or physical impairment.
There are a number of conditions that are expressly excluded from being considered an impairment under the DDA. These include:
Long Term
An impairment will be held to be of long term effect if it has lasted 12 months, or is likely to last 12 months or for the rest of your life. Furthermore, where an impairment has had a substantial effect on your ability to carry out day-to-day activities but that effect has ceased temporarily, the impairment will be treated as continuing to have that effect (and therefore be long term) if the effect is likely to recur.
Substantial adverse effect
Substantial means more than minor or trivial. This includes a cumulative effect. In assessing whether the impairment is substantial the general rule is that you ignore the effects of any treatment or coping strategy that may have reduced that impairment. So if you wear a hearing aid the question will be whether your hearing impairment would have a substantial adverse effect were you not using the aid. The fact that the hearing aid reduces your impairment should be disregarded. This general rule does not apply however to the correction of your eyesight by glasses or contact lenses. Nor does it apply where the effect of the treatment is to permanently improve your condition.
Day-to-day activities
These include mobility, manual dexterity, physical co-ordination; continence, ability to lift, carry or otherwise move everyday objects, speech, hearing or eyesight; memory, ability to concentrate, learn or understand, or perception of risk or danger.
a) you have a mental or physical impairment;
b) which is long term; and
c) has a substantial adverse effect
d) on your normal day-to-day activities.T here are some conditions where the person is deemed to have disability, whether or not that condition has yet had any effect on that person’s ability to carry out day-to-day activity. So if you are diagnosed as suffering from certain cancers, multiple sclerosis or HIV infection, you will be deemed to have a disability, regardless of whether you have any symptoms yet.
The Impairment
Physical impairment is not defined but is taken to refer to some damage or defect to the condition of a person’s body, which may or may not be a clinically treatable medical condition. It refers to a person having something wrong with them physically. Mental impairment, again, is not defined. It is no longer necessary for a mental impairment to be a recognised psychiatric illness but frequently medical evidence will be required in order to show whether or not there is a mental or physical impairment.
There are a number of conditions that are expressly excluded from being considered an impairment under the DDA. These include:
• addictions to alcohol, tobacco or illicit drugs,
• tendancy to set fires, tendency to steal or tendency to violence.
• hayfever (unless it aggravates another condition)
Long Term
An impairment will be held to be of long term effect if it has lasted 12 months, or is likely to last 12 months or for the rest of your life. Furthermore, where an impairment has had a substantial effect on your ability to carry out day-to-day activities but that effect has ceased temporarily, the impairment will be treated as continuing to have that effect (and therefore be long term) if the effect is likely to recur.
Substantial adverse effect
Substantial means more than minor or trivial. This includes a cumulative effect. In assessing whether the impairment is substantial the general rule is that you ignore the effects of any treatment or coping strategy that may have reduced that impairment. So if you wear a hearing aid the question will be whether your hearing impairment would have a substantial adverse effect were you not using the aid. The fact that the hearing aid reduces your impairment should be disregarded. This general rule does not apply however to the correction of your eyesight by glasses or contact lenses. Nor does it apply where the effect of the treatment is to permanently improve your condition.
Day-to-day activities
These include mobility, manual dexterity, physical co-ordination; continence, ability to lift, carry or otherwise move everyday objects, speech, hearing or eyesight; memory, ability to concentrate, learn or understand, or perception of risk or danger.
