Physical Disabilities

For most of us, life is difficult enough. There is always something or the other we wish we could change or modify to better suit our purposes and motives. Satisfaction with our endowments and surroundings is an alien concept for most of us and we are always cribbing over what we don't have rather than celebrating what all we DO have! Just step aside from life's worries for a second and think about those people who are victims of physical disabilities - still think you're Destiny's most neglected child? Don't you feel like counting your blessings and thanking God for making you an able-bodied person who can walk on his/her own feet, get things done by his/her own hands and is capable of surviving independently? I definitely count mine!

Most often, people with physical disabilities are the ones who exhibit the strongest desire to succeed against all odds and display unmatched moral courage to challenge destiny every day of their lives! Such people should be inspirations for everyone to stand up and face life head on despite all odds! Come, let's find out what are the different types of physical difficulties and in what ways they affect the human body.

Types of Physical Disabilities

Broadly speaking, these disabilities fall under two categories - skeletal disabilities and neuromuscular disabilities. Disabilities and disorders of the skeletal system are those which affect our bones and either weaken them or cause gradual degeneration. Most of the time, skeletal disabilities may be due to birth or growth defects and these account for a large percentage of physical disabilities in children. Skeletal disorders like fracture, arthritis, incorrect posture and deformation of the skeletal structure are included under the purview of skeletal disabilities.

Neuromuscular disabilities are those which affect the muscular and nervous system, causing disturbances in the coordination of limbs, muscular weakness, loss of control over muscles, limited activity, etc. Loss of muscular function and muscular control may lead to spasms and involuntary fits of twitches and stiffening of the muscles. A common instance is epilepsy and epileptic attacks. Skeletal disabilities such as deformations and growth and birth defects prevent a person from being able to perform the activities of his/ her daily life on their own. Let's look at a comprehensive physical disabilities list to understand the scope of this term.

Physical Disabilities List

Physical disabilities can fall under any of the five categories - vision, hearing, mobility, chronic ailments, head trauma/ injury. Let us see what all disabilities are covered under each of these categories.

Visual Disabilities

• Blindness
• Cataract
• Color Blindness
• Blurred Vision
• Night Blindness

Auditory Disabilities

• Deafness or hearing loss (complete or partial)
• Tinnitus
• Meniere's Disease

Movement Disabilities

• Osteoarthritis
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Muscular Dystrophy
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Paralysis (complete or partial)
• Cerebral Palsy
• Stroke
• Parkinson's Disease

Challenges of a Life with Physical Disabilities

People with the above-mentioned categories of disabilities often face some or all the following problems and issues:

• Coordination: A weak and diseased neuromuscular system is ill-suited to efficiently control and coordinate all the body's functions. This may lead to lost sense of balance, inability to participate in activities involving hand-eye coordination and loss of fine motor skills.
• Paralysis: This happens when certain muscles completely or partially lose the ability to function. Paralysis is common in case of nervous disorders and degenerative nervous diseases.
• Limited Activity: Due to lack of coordination and appropriate muscle functions, the scope of activities of a physically disabled person drastically decreases.
• Restricted or Supervised Social Life: Owing to the aforementioned issues, the social life and interpersonal interactions of a physically challenged person gets restricted. Such a person needs close and regular monitoring to ensure his/her safety. For instance, a person suffering from epilepsy may be able to carry out most of his/her daily activities without assistance but on the event of an epileptic attack, such a person becomes helpless and must be attended to immediately in order to avoid any kind of casualty.

That was a cursory glance at disabilities of physical nature and their categories. When I look at such physically challenged people and see their will to live life like any normal person, I feel humbled by the courage they exhibit to face life despite all odds. I wish the rest of us could radiate the same attitude towards life and its tribulations!