The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) defines disability in this way:

A person has a disability if he or she has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

[Schedule 1, DDA, quoted from Appendix 1 of Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Part IV, Code of Practice for providers of Post 16 education and related services.]

The definition given by the Act is not prescriptive, but defines how a court will go about deciding whether or not an individual is covered by the Act. Individuals who are likely covered, though, will include:

• Blind or visually impaired students (though where glasses are worn it is the effect whilst they are worn that is taken into account)
• Deaf or hearing impaired students
• Students who use wheelchairs
• Students with mobility difficulties
• Students with mental health problems (with some exceptions, such as addiction to alcohol or non-prescribed drugs - see appendix 1 of the Code of Practice for more information)
• Students with dyslexia (in some cases, opinion is divided in this area)
• Students with unseen disabilities, such as: heart conditions, asthma, AIDS, cancer and diabetes.

The encompassing nature of this definition is important for staff in higher education because:

• It doesn't relate neatly to the categories and systems with which we are already familiar. Being eligible for the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) or giving a disability code on a UCAS form is not the limit of disability as far as the Act is concerned.
• The definition is likely to include many people who you might not, at first, think of as being disabled.
• All staff in higher education are likely to encounter disabled students in their day-to-day work and may not even be aware of it.

The practical effect of this is that we ought to plan for inclusion of all disabled students as far as possible. Defending discrimination on the grounds that an individual is not covered by the Act is likely to be complicated, risky and potentially costly.

Copyright 2000 - 2002, Coventry University, University of Warwick, University College Worcester.

Useful Links

Appendix One: The meaning of disability, from Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Part IV  Code of Practice for providers of Post 16 education and related services.  From the Disability Rights Commission: Education for Equality web site.

Guidance on matters to be taken into account in determining questions relating to the definition of disability. (Guidance issued by the Secretary of State.) Available from the Disability Rights Commission