July Is Disability Awareness Month! July Is Disability Awareness Month!

What is a disability? The definition that was contained in the Americans with Disabilities Act says that a person with disability is someone who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity. According to the CDC there are six functional types of disabilities, and they are: mobility, cognition, independent living, hearing, vision, and self-care. Having a disability makes it difficult to complete daily tasks, but not all disabilities are the same. Some disabilities are constant, some disabilities can flare up, some disabilities can even go away. In the workplace visible and invisible disabilities as well as temporary disabilities should be met with support, and the willingness to be understanding of the effects of disability. One in four adults in the United States (if not more) have some form of disability. When thinking of disability we must recognize the scope of disability which can include anxiety, depression, Crohn’s disease, arthritis, fibromyalgia, muscular dystrophy, autism, that’s just a short list, that list is just an example of disabilities that can be seen and cannot be seen.

Written by: Cody Newcomb