10.1. Disability

A disability is an ability which a person doesn’t have, but they were expected to have. For example:

• If a building only has stair cases to get up to the second floor (it was built assuming everyone could walk up stairs), then someone who cannot walk up stairs has a disability.

• If a physical picture book was made with the assumption that people would be able to see the pictures, then someone who cannot see has a disability.

• If tall grocery store shelves that were made with the assumption that people would be able to reach them, then people who are short, or who can’t lift their arms up, or who can’t stand up, all would have a disability.

• If an airplane seat that was designed with little leg room assuming people’s legs wouldn’t be too long, then someone who is very tall, or who has difficulty bending their legs would have a disability.

Which abilities are expected of people, and therefore what things are considered disabilities, are socially defined. Different societies and groups of people make different assumptions about what people can do, and so what is considered a disability in one group, might just be “normal” in another.

There are many things we might not be able to do that won’t be considered disabilities because our social groups don’t expect us to be able to do them. For example, none of us have wings that we can fly with, but that is not considered a disability, because our social groups didn’t assume we would be able to. Or, for a more practical example, let’s look at color vision:

Most humans are trichromats, meaning they can see three base colors (red, green, and blue), along with all their combinations. Human societies often assume that people will be trichromats. So people who can’t see as many colors are considered to be color blind, a disability. But there are also a small number of people who are tetrachromats, and can see four base colors (trying to name these base colors in trichromat terms is not straightforward) and all their combinations. In comparison to tetrachromats, trichromats (the majority of people), lack an ability to see some colors. But our society doesn’t build things for tetrachromats, so their extra ability to see color doesn’t help them much, and trichromats’ relative reduction in seeing color doesn’t cause them difficulty, so being a trichromat isn’t considered to be a disability.

Some disabilities are visible disabilities that other people can notice by observing the disabled person (e.g., wearing glasses is an indication of a visual disability). Other disabilities are invisible disabilities that other people cannot notice by observing the disabled person (e.g., chronic pain).

Many of the disabilities we mentioned above were permanent disabilities, that is, disabilities that won’t go away. But disabilities can also be temporary disabilities, like a broken leg in a cast, which will eventually go away. Disabilities can even be situational disabilities, like the loss of fine motor skills when wearing thick gloves in the cold, or trying to watch a video on your phone in class with the sound off, or trying to type on a computer while holding a baby.

As you look through all these types of disabilities, you might discover ways you have experienced disability in your life, though having some experience with disability does not make anyone an expert in all disabilities.

As for our experience with disability, Kyle has been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder and Susan has been diagnosed with depression. Kyle and Susan also both have:

• near sightedness: our eyes cannot focus on things far away

• ADHD: we have difficulty controlling our focus, sometimes being hyperfocused and sometimes being highly distracted, and also have difficulties with executive dysfunction.