As mentioned disability has a broad definition under the Equality 2010 Act.

There are a number of ways that one can think about disability.

One approach is to consider disabilities as either being visible or hidden.

It is very easy to make assumptions about people based on how they look and jump to conclusions. We should all challenge the assumptions that we make about people.

The majority of disabilities are hidden.

Diabetes, epilepsy, heart conditions, mental health conditions, autistic spectrum disorders, chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome and hearing impairment are just a few examples of disabilities that are usually invisible. Because an individual has a hidden disability they may find that inclusion and requests for assistance difficult to access as other people do not always appreciate the challenges they face.

Visible disabilities, including mobility difficulties or those that impact on how somebody looks and communicates can be more obvious to other people. This does not mean that those with a visible disability are included more readily, they may experience discrimination and find people make inappropriate assumptions about the type of assistance they may wish to receive.

All specific learning differences, including dyslexia and dyspraxia are unseen. Please watch the following video clip about unseen disabilities.

 

 

Students are encouraged to disclose disabilities on their UCAS form. UCAS uses the following classifications:

A No Disability.

B You have a social/communication impairment such as Asperger's syndrome/other autistic spectrum disorder.

C You are blind or have a serious visual impairment uncorrected by glasses.

D You are deaf or have a serious hearing impairment.

E You have a long standing illness or health condition such as cancer, HIV, diabetes, chronic heart disease or epilepsy.

F You have a mental health condition such as depression, schizophrenia or anxiety disorder.

G You have a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia, dyspraxia or AD(H)D.

H You have physical impairment or mobility issues, such as difficulty using your arms or using a wheelchair or crutches.

I You have a disability, impairment or medical condition that is not listed above.

J You have two or more impairments and/or disabling medical conditions.

 

 

Many people have multiple disabilities. Some conditions tend to co-exist with others. For example, it is not usual for someone with ASD to also have a mental health condition and someone with diabetes may have visual impairment.

Two people with the same type of disability can be affected in very different ways.