CLASSIFICATION OF MENTAL
DISORDERS
Assignment 1
(Sanchi Gupta, A015116720049)
Question:
Differentiate between impairment, disability, and handicap. Elaborate with
examples.
Answer:
Impairment, disability, and handicap are all related to conditions that make it hard
or impossible for an individual to function in a normal capacity and the effect of
those conditions. An impairment is the abnormality itself, and a disability is the
restriction that is caused by the abnormality. A handicap is the manner in which the
impairment restricts the normal functioning of an individual.
An impairment is the abnormality itself, and a disability is the restriction that is
caused by the abnormality. A handicap is the manner in which the impairment
restricts the normal functioning of an individual.
IMPAIRMENT:
An impairment occurs when there is a problem that affects the normal human body
structure or organ. An example of an impairment is someone who has cerebral
palsy, because it affects the structure of the body of those who suffer from it in
several ways. It causes the joints to stiffen due to painful contractions in the
muscles, which make it hard for the individual to move the various limbs. It also
causes the jaws to contract and clench together in a manner that makes it a struggle
for some individuals to unclench the jaw. Cerebral palsy also leads to stunted
growth and deformity of the limbs in some individuals. All of these factors affect
the physical structure of the body and are included in the definition of an
impairment.
DISABILITY:
Disability refers to the way in which the impairment restricts the movements and
activities of the individual. In the case of the individual with cerebral palsy, the
impairment may affect the ability of the individual to walk. This is due to the fact
that the individual cannot coordinate the twisted and stiff muscles to use them to
walk. In severe cases of cerebral palsy, the individual may be unable to move at all
due to damage in the brain and the resulting disconnect between the cognitive
faculty necessary to learn how to function and the ability to control the limbs for
movement. In relatively milder cases of cerebral palsy in which the individual
retains full or partial cognitive faculties, such an individual might be able to learn
how to move about using movement aids. The use of such aids reduces the level of
the disability.]
HANDICAP:
The handicap stems from the extent of restriction that the impairment and
disability impose on the individual. The criteria for measuring the handicap is by
assessing how other normal people in such a situation would cope. As such, those
who have cerebral palsy are handicapped in the sense that they cannot do things
common to people in their age group and environment. For instance, if the
individual who has cerebral palsy is eight years old, he or she is handicapped to the
extent that he or she cannot play with children in the same age group, and in some
cases, cannot even do everyday tasks like feeding him or herself.
Example 1:
 Dyslexia is an example of learning impairment, a reading impairment in
particular. Let’s say the student has an above-average intelligence as well as
good vision and hearing. Therefore, the impairment is the brain’s inability
to decode words to be able to read. The brain cannot correctly associate the
sounds with the letter symbols.
 The inability to read is now the student’s learning disability. It can be
improved by employing specific intervention programmes such as multisensory instruction in teaching reading.
 The person may experience various learning handicaps in school, and he or
she may fail in class. For example, the student may not be able to complete
the reading requirements in class. However, if certain adjustments are
provided for the learner, such as taping lectures and listening to books on
audiotapes, then he or she may fare well, similar to his or her peers. This
will decrease the student’s handicap and will not interfere with his or her
progress in school.
Example 2:
Cindy is an 8-year-old who has extreme difficulty with reading (severe dyslexia).
She has good vision and hearing and scores well on tests of intelligence. She went
to an excellent preschool and several different special reading programs have been
tried since early in kindergarten.
IMPAIRMENT
While no brain injury or
malformation has been
identified, some
impairment is presumed
to exist in how Cindy's
brain puts together visual
and auditory information.
The impairment may be
inability to associate
sounds with symbols, for
example.
DISABILITY
In Cindy's case, the
inability to read is a
disability. The disability
can probably be
improved by trying
different teaching
methods and using those
that seem most effective
with Cindy. If the
impairment can be
explained, it may be
possible to dramatically
improve the disability by
using a method of
teaching that does not
require skills that are
impaired (That is, if the
difficulty involves
learning sounds for
letters, a sight-reading
approach can improve
her level of disability).
HANDICAP
Cindy already
experiences a handicap
as compared with other
children in her class at
school, and she may fail
third grade. Her
condition will become
more handicapping as
she gets older if an
effective approach is not
found to improve her
reading or to teach her to
compensate for her
reading difficulties. Even
if the level of disability
stays severe (that is, she
never learns to read
well), this will be less
handicapping if she
learns to tape lectures
and "read" books on
audiotapes. Using such
approaches, even in
elementary school, can
prevent her reading
disability from
interfering with her
progress in other
academic areas
(increasing her
handicap).