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Definition of 'disability'

Find out about the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and its definition of a person with disabilities. You can also learn about what help and guidance is available.

The definition

The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) defines a person with disabilities as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on the ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. For the purposes of the Act:

  • substantial means neither minor nor trivial
  • long-term means that the effect of the impairment has lasted or is likely to last for at least 12 months (there are special rules covering recurring or fluctuating conditions)
  • normal day-to-day activities include everyday things like eating, washing, walking and going shopping
  • a normal day-to-day activity must affect one of the 'capacities' listed in the Act which include mobility, manual dexterity, speech, hearing, seeing and memory

Some conditions, such as a tendency to set fires and hay fever, are specifically excluded.

People who have had a disability in the past that meets this definition are also covered by the scope of the Act. There are additional provisions relating to people with progressive conditions.

The Disability Discrimination (NI) Order 2006 amended the definition of disability. It ensured that people with HIV, cancer and multiple sclerosis are deemed to be covered by the DDA effectively from the point of diagnosis, rather than from the point when the condition has some adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

Guidance and codes of practice

The government has published statutory guidance, primarily to assist adjudicating bodies like courts and tribunals in deciding whether a person has disabilities for the purposes of the DDA.

The current 'Guidance on matters to be taken into account in determining questions relating to the definition of disability' was revised on 21 April 2008.

You can read the current guidance on the website of Office of the First and Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM). You can read codes of practice of the DDA on the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland website.

Help from the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland

The Equality Commission can provide free and confidential advice to people who believe they have been discriminated against for a reason related to their disability. It also provides free general advice to employers and service providers on recommended good practice under the Disability Discrimination Act.