Physical disability
A physical disability is a condition that limits the way the body works. For example, a physical disability may limit the way a part of the body grows, moves, or does what it is supposed to do.
Types of physical disabilities[change | change source]
Congenital disabilities[change | change source]
A congenital disability is a disability that a baby has when they are born, or had before they were born. These disabilities used to be called "birth defects."
The most common congenital disability is congenital heart disease - problems in the way the heart grows and works. In 2013, 34.3 million people around the world had congenital heart disease.[1] Congenital heart disease also causes more deaths than any other congenital disability. In 2013, it caused 323,000 deaths.[2]
Other examples of congenital disabilities include:[3]
- Fetal alcohol syndrome
- Spina bifida, a problem with the way the spinal cord formed while a fetus was growing
- Microcephaly, where the baby's head is smaller than usual
- Problems with the way the brain, spinal cord, kidneys, or gastrointestinal system grew while a fetus was developing
Inherited disabilities[change | change source]
Some types of congenital disabilities are genetic. This means the disability was "inherited," or passed down to a person, through their parents' genes.[4]
Examples of inherited physical disabilities include:[4]
Acquired disabilities[change | change source]
Acquired disabilities are disabilities that people get ("acquire") after they are born. Often they are caused by injuries or illnesses. Examples of acquired physical disabilities include:
- Paralysis, caused by an injury to the spinal cord
- Brain injury, caused by a head injury or an illness (like an infection in the brain)
- Amputation of a body part because of injury or illness
- Chronic back pain from on-the-job injuries
- Chronic medical problems like epilepsy, congestive heart failure, kidney failure, and cancer
Famous people with physical disabilities[change | change source]
There have been many famous people with physical disabilities. Below are some examples.
Leaders and politicians
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was the United States President from 1933-1945. He was paralyzed from the waist down from polio.[5]
- King George VI, who was King of England from 1936-1952. He had a speech disorder (stuttering).[6]
- Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940-1945 and 1951-1955, also stuttered.[7]
- John F. Kennedy, who was the United States President from 1961-1963. He had many painful health problems caused by Addison's disease and hypothyroidism.[8][9]
Actors
- James Earl Jones,[10] Emily Blunt,[11] Hugh Grant,[12] Samuel L. Jackson,[12][13] and Bruce Willis[12] all have stutters.
- Michael J. Fox has Parkinson's disease.[14]
Singers
Other famous people
- Stephen Hawking, an award-winning physicist and writer who is paralyzed from motor neurone disease.[18]
- Jim Abbott, a baseball player who was born with only one hand. He played ten seasons in Major League Baseball; pitched a no-hitter; and won an Olympic gold medal playing for the United States in the 1988 Summer Olympics.[19]
Related pages[change | change source]
- Paralympic Games (Olympic Games for people with disabilities)
References[change | change source]
- ↑ GBD 2013 Mortality Causes of Death Collaborators (January 2015). "Global, regional, and national age–sex specific all-cause and cause-specific mortality for 240 causes of death, 1990–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013". The Lancet. 385 (9963): 117–171. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61682-2. PMC 4340604. PMID 25530442.
{{cite journal}}:|author1=has generic name (help) - ↑ GBD 2013 Mortality Causes of Death Collaborators (January 2015). "Global, regional, and national age–sex specific all-cause and cause-specific mortality for 240 causes of death, 1990–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013". The Lancet. 385 (9963): 117–171. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61682-2. PMC 4340604. PMID 25530442.
{{cite journal}}:|author1=has generic name (help) - ↑ "Specific Birth Defects". CDC.gov. United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. October 9, 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Genetics – Genetic Inheritance". NHSChoices. National Health System of the United Kingdom. August 7, 2014. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
- ↑ Tobin, James (2014). The Man He Became: How FDR Defied Polio to Win the Presidency. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0743265164.
- ↑ Rhodes James, Robert (1998). A Spirit Undaunted: The Political Role of George VI. London: Little, Brown, and Co. p. 98. ISBN 0-316-64765-9.
- ↑ Sharp, Keith (ed.). "Winston Churchill, Stutterer". University of Toronto. Archived from the original on January 13, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
- ↑ Dallek, Robert (December 2002). "The Medical Ordeals of JFK". The Atlantic. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
- ↑ Mandel, Lee R. (2009). "Endocrine and Autoimmune Aspects of the Health History of John F. Kennedy". Annals of Internal Medicine. 151 (5): 350–354. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-151-5-200909010-00011. PMID 19721023. S2CID 10969109.
- ↑ James Earl Jones (June 29, 1996). "The Voice of Triumph" (Interview). Interviewed by The American Academy of Achievement for the National Medal of Arts. Sun Valley, Idaho. Archived from the original (Audio/Transcript) on September 6, 2010. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
- ↑ "Movie Star Talks about Stuttering". Stuttering Foundation. 15 July 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Trubo, Richard (2001). The New Book Of Knowledge – Health and Medicine. New York: Grolier. pp. 112–123. ISBN 0-7172-0608-4.
- ↑ Braunstein, M.D., Glenn D. (28 February 2011). "Understanding Stuttering". The Huffington Post. London. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
- ↑ Brockes, Emma (April 11, 2009). "It's the gift that keeps on taking". The Guardian. London. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
- ↑ Young, Scott (July 30, 1997). "Chapter 8: Buffalo Springfield and Epilepsy". Neil and Me. Music Sales Distributed. p. 68. ISBN 0-9529540-2-8.
- ↑ Gundersen, Edna (May 10, 2013). "Lil Wayne can't recall seizures: 'I don't feel sick'". USA Today. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
- ↑ "Prince reveals childhood epilepsy". BBC News Entertainment. April 29, 2009. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
- ↑ "Mind over matter: How Stephen Hawking defied Motor Neurone Disease for 50 years". Independent.co.uk. November 26, 2015. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
- ↑ Swaine, Rick. "Jim Abbott". sabr.org. Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved February 12, 2016.