Physical disabilities overview

A physical disability is any disability which limits the physical function of one or more limbs . Other physical disabilities include impairments which limit other facets of daily living, such as cerebral palsy or deafness. The three major categories of physical disabilities are mobility impairment, visual impairment and hearing impairment.

Physical disabilities are purely physiological impairments. Even the most severe of physical disabilities does not directly affect a person's intellect, awareness, cognitive ability or potential for intellectual or academic success. However, physical disabilities tend to be highly visible either in appearance or behavior. People with physical disabilities may have a strange abnormal appearance or they may act in unexpected ways. Those differences often lead to heavy stigmatization of physically disabled persons which may lead to impairments in social interactions or the devaluation of an individual. In essence, they are blocked by able-bodied people from having an equal opportunity to succeed when they are fully capable of doing so. Most physical disabilities are permanent or semi-permanent and do not affect a person's intellectual capability, so the strategies taken with them mainly revolve around overcoming stigmas and giving them the tools they need to compete on an equal footing with their able bodied peers.


The physical disabilities covered in this network are:

- Deafness
- Blindness
- Cerebral Palsy
- Spinal cord injuries