What is a disability?

What is a disability?

• A. A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of a person's major life activities
• B. A temporary impairment that does not affect major life activities
• C. A legal status indicating no disability
• D. An impairment that always requires hospitalization

Answer: (A)

Disability is defined by how an impairment affects a person’s ability to perform major life activities, not just by having a medical condition. The best answer describes disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of a person’s major life activities. This emphasizes functional impact in real-life tasks—things like walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, working, caring for oneself, or other important activities. The key idea is that the limitation has to be substantial, not just a minor or temporary challenge, and it can be temporary or long-lasting as long as the restriction is significant. The other statements don’t fit this definition because they either describe conditions that are temporary and don’t affect major life activities, suggest a legal status indicating no disability, or imply that hospitalization is the deciding factor, which isn’t how disability is defined.

Disability is defined by how an impairment affects a person’s ability to perform major life activities, not just by having a medical condition. The best answer describes disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of a person’s major life activities. This emphasizes functional impact in real-life tasks—things like walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, working, caring for oneself, or other important activities. The key idea is that the limitation has to be substantial, not just a minor or temporary challenge, and it can be temporary or long-lasting as long as the restriction is significant.

The other statements don’t fit this definition because they either describe conditions that are temporary and don’t affect major life activities, suggest a legal status indicating no disability, or imply that hospitalization is the deciding factor, which isn’t how disability is defined.