Tag: disability

I’m sure this definition is familiar to  many, but I heard it for the first time in a student presentation during an assembly on neurodiversity. I don’t know the original source, but here’s how the student presented it: disability is one’s ability + a barrier. Their example was a wheelchair user. Getting around via a wheelchair is the person’s ability + the barrier of steps without a ramp = a disability. I really liked this positive perspective on a person having certain abilities and the dis- part is not inherent in them but external barriers set up by societal norms and expectations  (such as steps).