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Definition of disability - The Disability Discrimination Act (1995) & (2005)

What the Act means by disability

The Acts defines a disabled person as "someone who has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities”.

Physical impairment

A physical impairment can include a sensory impairment such as a visual or hearing impairment.

Some physical impairments automatically meet the definition of disability:

• People who are registered blind or partially-sighted
• People with severe disfigurements

Mental impairment

Mental impairment is not defined in the DDA but includes a wide range of impairments relating to mental illness, for example, depression, schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and learning disabilities.

Long term effect

This means that the effects of the impairment(s):

• must have lasted for at least 12 months,
• is likely to last for at least 12 months;

Day-to Day activities

The DDA states that one or more of the following must be affected in a substantial and adverse way:

• mobility
• manual dexterity
• physical co-ordination
• continence
• ability to lift, carry or otherwise move everyday objects
• speech, hearing or eyesight
• memory or ability to concentrate, learn or understand
• perception of the risk of physical danger

A normal day-to-day activity is something that is 'normal' for most people, and that is carried out on a daily or regular basis.

Progressive conditions

Some progressive conditions – cancer, multiple sclerosis and HIV infection – count as a disability from the date the individual first developed the condition.

Other types of progressive conditions (for example, Hodgkinson's disease or motor neurone disease) are covered by the DDA as soon as the condition has some effect on the individual’s ability to carry out normal day to day activities. This effect does not need to be continuous or substantial , but must show that there is likely to be a substantial adverse effect at some point in the future.

Past disability

Sometimes non-disabled people are discriminated against because of an impairment they had in the past. Individuals are protected by the DDA, if they met the definition of disability at some time in the past. They would have to show that their impairment lasted for at least 12 months, and had a substantial adverse effect on their day-to-day activities at that time.

Severe disfigurements

People with severe disfigurements are covered by the DDA and do not need to prove any effect on their day-to-day activities.

Not all disfigurements will be considered 'severe'. Scars, birthmarks, limb or postural deformation or skin disease could be considered ‘severe disfigurements’. Whether or not they are 'severe' may depend partly on where they are on the body, for example a birthmark on the individuals back may not be a severe disfigurement, whereas a similar mark on their face might be considered severe.

Tattoos and decorative body piercings are excluded from the definition of severe disfigurement.

 

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