- Disability is characterized by physiological, biological, and intellectual impairments in an individual. The World Health Organization (WHO) defined it in 1976 as the inability to perform activities within the normal human range, hindering the fulfillment of a conventional role. A handicap, arising from impairment and disability, represents a disadvantage for an individual.
- A deeper understanding challenges the term “disability,” acknowledging that all individuals possess temporary abilities, subject to unforeseen events like accidents. Every person also exhibits unique capabilities. Therefore, labeling those outside the perceived ‘normal’ category as disabled seems crude, suggesting a preference for the term “physically and mentally challenged people.”
- Globally, an estimated 600 million people grapple with various forms of disability, with India alone reporting 22 million disabled individuals according to the 2001 census. Causes of disability encompass war, civil conflict, poverty, overcrowded and unhygienic living conditions, accidents, natural disasters, old age, and congenital diseases. A cyclical relationship exists between poverty and disability, where poverty causes and exacerbates disability. The consequences of disability often include income loss and additional expenses for medical treatment and specialized devices.
- Malnutrition contributes to disability, leading to conditions like blindness, beriberi, pellagra, and rickets. Various occupational hazards impact workers in industries such as stone quarrying, leather, glasswork, weaving, diamond cutting, and hand embroidery. Children engaged in carpet, cracker, and match industries face significant risks, as do women and children abducted for purposes like prostitution, slavery, and beggary, exposing them to emotional, mental, and physical disabilities.
Disability Definition & Causes
Disability Definition & Causes
Disability Definition & Causes
Disability Definition & Causes
Disability Definition & Causes
- Disability Definition & Causes