Disability Definitions and Types

WHO Definitions (1983)

For the WHO (1983), impairment is any loss or abnormality of structure or function, psychological, physiological, or anatomical; disability relates to the absence, due to impairments, of the ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being; and handicap refers to a disadvantage for an individual, a social consequence of impairment or disability that limits or prevents the fulfillment of a role considered normal depending on age group, sex, social, and cultural factors.

For WHO, disability is the lack (resulting from an impairment) of the ability to perform an activity normally.

Disability Definition in Chile (Ley 19.284)

DISABILITY: According to Ley 19.284, a person is considered to have a disability as a result of one or more physical, mental, or sensory impairments, congenital or acquired, likely permanent, and regardless of the causes, which have hampered at least one-third capacity for education, employment, or social integration.

Disability Types in Chilean Schools (Decree 1-98)

In Chile, Decree 1-98 determines that the school system as a whole should provide educational alternatives for students who display any of the following disabilities:

• Mental Deficiency

  Students whose intellectual performance is at or below 70 IQ points, measured by a test, which includes mild, moderate, severe, or profound levels.

• Visual Impairment

  Students who have alterations of visual perception in varying degrees and due to different etiologies. These are quantitative and qualitative limitations in the reception, integration, and management of visual information. This occurs in people who have a central visual acuity of 0.33 or less in their measurement.

• Hearing Impairment

  This is the alteration of auditory perception in varying degrees. It is characterized by students presenting quantitative and qualitative limitations in the reception, integration, and management of auditory information. It is fundamental for development and adaptation. This includes those with hearing loss measuring less than 40 decibels.

• Physical Disability (Deficit or Motor Disorder)

  Refers to motor deficiencies that result from alterations in the effector mechanism as a consequence of alterations in the nervous system.

• Psychological Disability (Serious Changes in Relationship and Communication Capacity)

  This includes autistic disorder, disorders and/or psychic deficits of emotion, intellect, and/or behavior, and severe dysphasias.