Types of Handicapped People

There are various types of handicapped people based on the nature of the
disabilities experienced by an individual. They are;

a.
Physical Disabilities

Includes
physiological, functional and/or mobility impairments
Can
be fluctuating or intermittent, chronic, progressive or stable, visible or
invisible
Some
involve extreme pain, some less, some none at all

b.
Visual Disabilities

“Legally Blind” describes an individual who has 10%
or less of normal vision. Only 10% of people with a visual disability are
actually totally blind. The other 90% are described as having a “Visual
Impairment.”

c. Hearing
Disabilities

“Deaf”
describes an individual who has severe to profound hearing loss.
“Deafened”
describes an individual who has acquired a hearing loss in adulthood.
“DeafBlind”
describes an individual who has both a sight and hearing loss.
“Hard
of Hearing” describes an individual who uses their residual hearing and
speech to communicate.

d.
Mental Health Disabilities

Mental health disabilities can take many forms,
just as physical disabilities do. Unlike many physical illnesses though, all
mental illnesses can be treated.

They are generally classified into six categories:

Schizophrenia
– The most serious mental illness, schizophrenia affects about 1% of
Canadians.
Mood
Disorders (Depression and Manic Depression) – These illnesses affect about
10% of the population. Depression is the most common mood disorder.
Anxiety
Disorders – These affect about 12% of Canadians. They include phobias and
panic disorder as well as obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Eating
Disorders – They include anorexia nervosa and bulimia and are most common
in men and women under the age of 30.
Personality
Disorders – There are many different personality disorders. People with
these disorders usually have a hard time getting along with other people.
They are the most difficult disorders to treat.
Organic
Brain Disorders – These disorders affect about 1% of people. They are the
result of physical disease or injury to the brain (i.e., Alzheimer’s,
Stroke, Dementia).

e.
Intellectual Disabilities

Characterized
by intellectual development and capacity that is significantly below
average.
Involves
a permanent limitation in a person’s ability to learn.

f.
Learning Disabilities

A
learning disability is essentially a specific and persistent disorder of a
person’s central nervous system affecting the learning process.
This
impacts a person’s ability to either interpret what they see and hear, or
to link information from different parts of the brain.
One
of the most common indicators of a learning disability is a discrepancy
between the individual’s potential (aptitudes and intellectual capacity)
and his or her actual level of achievement.
Having
a learning disability does not mean a person is incapable of learning;
rather that they learn in a different way.
Many
people with a learning disability develop strategies to compensate for or
to circumvent their difficulties.

Prevention of Handicapped Encompasses the Following
Areas:

Facilitating
access of parents to genetic counseling
Guiding
mothers in taking appropriate prenatal care for safe delivery. Advising
them on personal hygiene and health to prevent infections during pregnancy.
Forming
parent support groups to access information on the current trends in the
field of medicine and advise on the

Adverse
effects of taking un-prescribed medicines during pregnancy.
Resorting
to ill advised methods to terminate unwanted pregnancies and
In
the management of their children with associated conditions and
disorders.

Planning
and organizing social and recreational activities with parental
involvement, thereby enhancing their self esteem and building up their
self confidence to take decisions regarding their child in all aspects
including their future so as to prevent them from being a burden on
society and to be able to lead a dignified quality life.