As a physician, I wish more folks appreciated that “disability” is a property of the relationship between a person and their environment, and can emerge (or disappear) based on changes in that persons capability as well as changes in their environment.
For an obvious example: a patient with reversible heart failure can’t walk without severe shortness of breath today, but they can in three months. Today they need disabled parking; three months from now they do not.
It really demonstrated your point. I was quite jealous of their ability to hold a conversation with people all the way across the pub :)
For instance if you're taking a legal drug that habituates you, they don't like calling you an addict, so you're experiencing cessation syndrome. A change in legal status of the drug would presumably lead to a terminology change.
And I'm not going to revisit DSM fights, but suffice to say, a number of changes made to certain diagnoses over time reveal more about sociopolitical changes than anything having to do with psychiatry.
And yes, it's situational. That's what we learned in experience design.
Another example: a parent holding their baby. They "lost" one arm in that situation.
It is part of the definition for intellectual disabilities though. From [1]:
> An individual is generally diagnosed as having an intellectual disability when: (1) the person's intellectual functioning level (IQ) is below 70-75; (2) the person has significant limitations in adaptive skill areas as expressed in conceptual, social, and practical skills; and (3) the disability originated before the age of 18. "Adaptive skill areas" refer to basic skills needed for everyday life. They include communication, self care, home living, social skills, leisure, health and safety, self direction, functional academics (reading, writing, basic math), and work.
Being bad enough at math that it impedes day to day life is not sufficient to qualify for intellectual disability under the ADA but it's one of the major factors.
I think the point is that even capable humans are often in situations where they are functionally disabled - like when they're really exhausted or inebriated or mentally/physically overloaded - and all of these accessibility technologies are helpful in those situations. It's not about the ADA definition but humans in practice.
[1] https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/persons-intellectual-disa...
I think likely we would still need some kind of formal recognition, but it's interesting to ponder.
I'm not partially blind just because I can't see with my eyelids closed.
edit - Yes, workplaces should cater to legal disabilities. The question here is if employers should in any way cater to functional disabilities, not disabilities as diagnosed in the DSM. See elsewhere in this thread.
Not the person you're replying to, but certainly if you e.g. lose a child, your workplace should be sensitive to that and not fire you because you're unable to show up to work that day.
If they don't want to violate the ADA, yes. For example, major depression can be a disability, and employers are bound by the ADA to not discriminate against people with that disability and to provide them reasonable accommodations.
For example, if you are in cold weather you have gloves on which limits your manual dexterity - you can't touch the watch without taking off your gloves, or can't turn the dial - in that situation you have the same dexterity as someone with one hand or limited finger grip. The same goes if you are holding a basket or child.
Alternatively, you have good eye sight and good hearing... for now - unfortunately this probably won't always be the case. But as you age (or if you go to a loud concert) this can change rapidly - having alternate ways of using technology will come in handy in unexpected ways.
Designing for situational disability, ie. I cant use a device in this way right now, will have dramatic impact on users with permanent disabilities - but also helps people with situation disabilities right now.
(Also I'm not sure why this comment is being so viciously downvoted, its a good question.)
