Today is a..............

Disabilities is an umbrella term, covering impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions.

An impairment is a problem in body function or structure; an activity limitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action; while a participation restriction is a problem experienced by an individual in involvement in life situations. Thus, disability is a complex phenomenon, reflecting an interaction between features of a person's body and features of the society in which he or she lives.

Intellectual disability

Intellectual disability is a broad concept that ranges from mental retardation... to cognitive deficits... too mild or too specific to qualify as mental retardation. Intellectual disabilities may appear at any age. Mental retardation is a subtype of intellectual disability, and the term intellectual disability is now preferred by many advocates in most English-speaking countries as a euphemism for mental retardation.

Sociology of disability

Impairment is the correct term to use to define a deviation from normal, such as not being able to make a muscle move... or not being able to control an unwanted movement.

Disability is the term used to define a restriction in the ability to perform a normal activity of daily living which someone of the same age is able to perform. For example, a three-year-old child who is not able to walk has a disability because a normal three-year-old can walk independently. Handicap is the term used to describe a child or adult who, because of the disability, is unable to achieve the normal role in society commensurate with his age and socio-cultural milieu.

As an example, a sixteen-year-old who is unable to prepare his own meal or care for his own toileting or hygiene needs is handicapped. On the other hand, a sixteen-year-old who can walk only with the assistance of crutches but who attends a regular school and is fully independent in activities of daily living is disabled but not handicapped. All disabled people are impaired, and all handicapped people are disabled, but a person can be impaired and not necessarily be disabled !

The social model of disability sees the issue of "disability" as a socially created problem and a matter of the fullintegration of individuals into society. In this model, disability is not an attribute of an individual, but rather a complex collection of conditions, many of which are created by the social environment. Hence, the management of the problem requiressocial actionand it is the collective responsibility of society at large to make the environmental modifications necessary for the full participation of people with disabilities in all areas of social life. The issue is bothcultural and ideological, requiring individual, community, and large-scale social change.

From this perspective, equal access for someone with an impairment/disability is a human rights issue of major concern Medical humanities can bridge the gap between medical and social model of disability.