CHAPTER 1: Defining the Target Audience What is the definition of a disability? The Americans with Disabilities Act defines an individual with a disability in very specific terms. The ADA has a three-part definition of "disability." This definition, based on the definition under the Rehabilitation Act, reflects the specific types of discrimination experienced by people with disabilities. Accordingly, it is not the same as the definition of disability in other laws, such as state workers' compensation laws or other federal or state laws that provide benefits for people with disabilities and disabled veterans. Under the ADA, an individual with a disability is a person who has: ● a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities; ● a record of such an impairment; or ● is regarded as having such an impairment. If you insinuate that a person has a disability or treat the person like the person has a disability, you have ”regarded” that the person has such an impairment. We must be careful that when an individual is seeking employment and they tell us they have diabetes that is controlled by diet, for example, we do not automatically regard that person as having a disability if their diabetes does not impair any of their major daily living skills. An Impairment that Substantially Limits Major Life Activities The first part of this definition has three major subparts that further define who is and who is not protected by the ADA. A physical impairment is defined by the ADA as: "[A]ny physiological disorder, or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems: neurological, musculoskeletal, special sense organs, respiratory (including speech organs), cardiovascular, reproductive, digestive, genito-urinary, hemic and lymphatic, skin, and endocrine."
3
