What is a disability?
Disability is common in our post-secondary institutions and it’s important that we have an understanding of what it means. Disability is a complex and continually evolving concept that covers a range of different conditions, and there is no single, all-encompassing definition. Disability typically means someone experiences physical, mental or sensory barriers that impact their day to day life. Having a disability doesn’t mean that you can’t do a job, it just means that you might do the job differently. When we are able to see disability as the opportunity to remove barriers, everyone will benefit.
Visible or Non-Visible?
Disability is not static or linear; it can be:
Physical and Mobility
Can affect a person’s motor skills and may require the use of a mobility aid.
Examples:
Cerebral Palsy
Epilepsy
Narcolepsy
Sensory
Can affect a person’s senses: vision, hearing, smell, touch, or taste.
Examples:
Deafness
Blindness
Chemical Sensitivities
Intellectual and Developmental
Can affect a person’s ability to learn and use information, creating limitations in reasoning, learning, and problem solving, as well as social and practical skill- building known as adaptive behaviours
Examples:
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Down syndrome
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
Learning
Can affect the way a person takes in, stores, or uses information. Learning disabilities can affect a person’s oral and written language, reading skills, mathematics skills, organization, or social skills.
Examples:
Dyslexia
Dysgraphia
Auditory Processing Disorder
Can affect a person’s mental alertness, concentration, organization, and anxiety levels.
Examples:
Anxiety Disorders
Depression
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Bi-polar Disorder
Schizophrenia
Did You Know?
According to research by the David C. Onley Initiative:
There were 9,400 students in the city of Ottawa's four post-secondary institutions registered with these schools’ disability services offices during the 2017–2018 school year.
52% of students registered with disability service offices across the four Ottawa post-secondary schools had a primary diagnosis of either a learning disability or a mental illness (David C. Onley Initiative, 2019).
People with disabilities represent a significant portion of our population. They include students in our post-secondary institutions and our current and future workforce. A large percentage of those people have disabilities that are not visible. It is valuable to learn about visible and non-visible disabilities, challenge our personal biases, and improve our understanding to help create an inclusive and accessible future.
Attribution
Unless otherwise stated, the material in this guide is from the Learning Portal created by College Libraries Ontario. Content has been adapted for the NWP Learning Commons in June 2021. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons BY NC SA 4.0 International License.
All icons on these pages are from The Noun Project. See individual icons for creator attribution.