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.[1]
Other examples of congenital disabilities include:[2]
- 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.[3]
Examples of inherited physical disabilities include:[3]
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.[4]
- King George VI, who was King of England from 1936-1952. He had a speech disorder (stuttering).[5]
- Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940-1945 and 1951-1955, also stuttered.[6]
- 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.[7][8]
Actors
- James Earl Jones,[9] Emily Blunt,[10] Hugh Grant,[11] Samuel L. Jackson,[11][12] and Bruce Willis[11] all have stutters.
- Michael J. Fox has Parkinson's disease.[13]
Singers
Other famous people
- Stephen Hawking, an award-winning physicist and writer who is paralyzed from motor neurone disease.[17]
- 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.[18]
Related pages[change | change source]
- Paralympic Games (Olympic Games for people with disabilities)
References[change | change source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 GBD 2013 Mortality and Causes of Death, Collaborators (17 December 2014). "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". Lancet. 385: 117–71. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61682-2. PMC 4340604. PMID 25530442.
- ↑ "Specific Birth Defects". CDC.gov. United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. October 9, 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "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 0743265165.
- ↑ 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. 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 (151(5)): 350–354. doi:10.1059/0003-4819-151-5-200909010-00011. PMID 19721023.
- ↑ James Earl Jones. Interview with The American Academy of Achievement for the National Medal of Arts. The Voice of Triumph (Audio/Transcript). Sun Valley, Idaho. June 29, 1996. Assessed on February 12, 2016.
- ↑ "Movie Star Talks about Stuttering". Stuttering Foundation. 15 July 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2011.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 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.
