The article discusses common physical disabilities, including visual and hearing impairments, skeletal injuries, and hereditary disorders. It also mentions the use of assistive devices and laws to protect people with disabilities from discrimination.
There are several types of common physical disabilities. Sometimes these disabilities are due to a disorder a person was born with. Other times, a person may be disabled due to an injury.
Visual impairment: It is estimated by the American Foundation for the Blind that 10 million people in the United States are visually impaired. Visual impairment in an individual can range from nearsightedness to complete blindness. As with most physical disabilities, this can be present in an individual from birth or caused by an eye or brain injury. Another cause of visual impairment is simply old age.
Hearing impairment: The most common type of hearing impairment is noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL), which refers to hearing damage caused by loud noises. Hearing loss can also be caused by head trauma, ear infections, pregnancy complications, and genetic disorders. In many cases, the ability to hear can be partially aided through the use of a hearing aid.
Impairments caused by injuries to the skeletal system along with muscles, joints, and ligaments: These common physical disabilities include amputations and disabilities due to spinal cord injury (SCI). An amputee is a person who has lost all or part of an arm or leg as a result of an amputation. Some of the most traumatic injuries are spinal cord injuries, which often leave the injured person paralyzed. More severe SCI can leave the victim partially or completely paralysed.
Hereditary and congenital defects or disorders that cause physical impairment: Many disabilities begin at or before birth. One of them is cerebral palsy, a disorder caused by a defect in the brain that causes movement and posture disorders. Another is spina bifida, which results in an incompletely formed spinal cord. Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease that causes multiple body systems to fail as life progresses. There are many more congenital and hereditary defects, and they are treatable to varying degrees and under constant research.
In the most serious cases, the disabled person completely loses the ability to use part of their body. A paraplegic is unable to use his lower limbs while a quadriplegic is completely paralyzed below the neck. In severe cases, the disabled person must be permanently immobilized to survive.
People with physical disabilities sometimes need special means to move from one place to another or to carry out daily activities. A paraplegic, for example, sometimes needs a wheelchair, or an amputee may use a prosthesis. A blind person can use a cane to help them “see,” while a deaf person can use sign language to communicate. Animals can also be trained to help the disabled and, in many cases, vehicles can be modified to accommodate them. There are many laws to help disabled people in society and, in the United States, the most recognizable of these laws is the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). It covers a wide range of civil rights that protect people with disabilities from discrimination.
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