Health in Credo: Disabilities

One of a spectrum of disorders defined by problems with communication, imagination, and social interaction. The symptoms may be present from birth or may develop in early childhood, around the third year. In rare cases, autistic individuals may show extraordinary talents in some areas. A condition of neurodevelopment, autism is more common in males, with onset typically in infancy. It is diagnosed when a child or adult has abnormalities in a ‘triad’ of behavioral domains: social development, communication, and repetitive behavior / obsessive interests.

Partial or complete loss of sight. Blindness may be caused by injury, by lesions of the brain or optic nerve, by disease of the cornea or retina, by pathological changes originating in systemic disorders (e.g., diabetes) and by cataract, glaucoma, or retinal detachment.

Disability caused by brain damage before or during birth or in the first years, resulting in a loss of voluntary muscular control and coordination.

Chromosomal (cytogenetic) abnormalities are the most frequent cause of congenital (present at birth) malformations, affecting some 1 in 200 newborns.

Partial or total lack of hearing. It may be present at birth (congenital) or may be acquired at any age thereafter. A person who cannot detect sound at an amplitude of 20 decibels in a frequency range of from 800 to 1,800 vibrations per second is said to be hard of hearing.

Congenital disorder characterized by mild to severe mental retardation, slow physical development, and characteristic physical features. Down syndrome affects about 1 in every 730 live births and occurs in all populations equally.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are a continuum of alcohol-induced fetal malformations.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which was signed into law by President George H. W. Bush in 1990, protects an array of individuals with disabilities at colleges and universities from discrimination by imposing comprehensive obligations on private sector employers, public services and accommodations, and transportation.

An assistance animal is one that is used to facilitate an activity by a human who is otherwise impaired in this action.

Civil rights are guarantees of equal social opportunities and equal protection under the law regardless of race, religion, sex, sexuality, or other personal characteristics. These personal rights are guaranteed by the country/state to its citizens. Civil rights incorporates the belief that governments should not arbitrarily act to infringe these rights, and that individuals and groups, through political action, have a legitimate role in determining and influencing what constitutes them.

A political ideal promoting the equal treatment, standing or status of people in certain respects.

The story of the battle of the deaf, dumb, and blind Helen Keller to break out of her solitary world of darkness and silence is an extraordinary one that has been told many times.