Library
Disability and incapacity
The same words mean different tests. Everyday talk, medical models, employment law, compensation schemes, and income-protection policies do not share a definition. Income protection usually assesses treated performance of material duties. Discrimination statutes often look at the unmitigated baseline. Mixing those axes is a trap.
33 contexts · Disability · Incapacity · Mitigated-state trap · Capacity ≠ performance
How the word is used
Disability
General / Dictionary
A physical/mental condition limiting activities; lack of ability; a handicap preventing normal life or work.
disabilityDisablement
General / Dictionary
The state or process of being disabled; the act of making a person or device inoperative.
disabilityDisability
Medical Model
A biological defect, pathology, or bodily system failure requiring treatment/cure.
disabilityDisablement
Medical Model
The pathological outcome of injury/disease.
disabilityDisability
Social Model
Disadvantage imposed by societal barriers excluding people with impairments.
disabilityDisablement
Social Model
The active process of being marginalized by societal structures.
disability · comparativeDisability
Biopsychosocial (WHO-ICF)
Umbrella term for impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions.
disabilityDisability
Conceptual / Academic
(See Biopsychosocial and Social model entries above)
disabilityDisablement
Conceptual / Academic
A metric of functional capacity loss; the process of exclusion.
Income protection and insured disability
Disability
Insurance (general/international)
Inability to work, triggering income-replacement benefits.
disabilityDisablement
Insurance (general/international)
The specific event/claim triggering a payout.
Statute and rights instruments
Disability
Legal - USA (ADA)
Impairment substantially limiting one or more major life activities; or a record of, or being regarded as having, such an impairment.
disability · comparativeDisability
Legal - UK (Equality Act 2010)
Physical/mental impairment with a substantial, long-term negative effect on normal daily activities.
disability · comparativeDisablement
Legal - UK (Equality Act 2010)
(Police/employment law) Being blind, deaf, or permanently handicapped.
disability · AUDisability
Legal - Australia (DDA 1992)
Total/partial loss of bodily/mental functions; loss of a body part; presence of disease organisms in the body.
disability · AUDisablement
Legal - Australia (DDA 1992)
(Not a defined statutory term)
disability · comparativeDisability
Legal - UN (CRPD)
Long-term impairments interacting with barriers that hinder full/equal participation.
disability · comparativeDisablement
Legal - UN (CRPD)
(Not used)
disability · comparativeDisability
Social Security (US - SSA)
Inability to engage in "Substantial Gainful Activity" (SGA) due to a medically determinable impairment.
disability · comparativeDisablement
Social Security (US - SSA)
(Not a separate term)