Concept of Disability and Disorder

Parents of a child with special needs are often confronted with a whole vocabulary for describing the child's challenges, and the same challenge is sometimes called a disorder and sometimes a disability. Conditions such as autism, dyslexia or ADHD, for example, are described by some people as "disorders" and by others as "disabilities", almost as if the two words meant the same thing. They are related, but they are not identical, and confusing them can lead to wrong expectations about what a child can do and what support they need. A third word, impairment, sits alongside them and helps sharpen the distinction.

This section takes the two terms in turn — first disorder, then disability — and then draws out the relationship between them. In the sections that follow, the unit goes on to the types of disability and their causes.

The relationship in brief

The single most useful sentence to remember is this: a disorder may or may not lead to a disability. A disorder is a disturbance in how the body or mind normally functions; it is often temporary and can frequently be treated, after which normal functioning returns. When a disturbance in functioning becomes long-lasting and begins to restrict a person's everyday participation — in daily tasks, at school, in the community — it crosses over into a disability. In the world of disability sport, in fact, the law treats a long-standing functional limitation (originating in a disorder) as the disability.

The comparison below captures the difference the textbook asks you to be able to draw: