Understanding Disability

Accessibility/Why Accessibility/Understanding Disability

Who’s impacted?

graphic with four human silhouettes, three colored teal and one colored yellow representing 1 in 4

1 in 4

Adults in the U.S.*

graphic with five human silhouettes, four colored teal and one colored yellow representing 1 in 5

1 in 5

Undergraduate students**

graphic with nine human silhouettes, eight colored teal and one colored yellow representing 1 in 9

1 in 9

Graduate students**

*Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Disability and Health Promotion

**Source: National Center for Education Statistics

Disability is diverse.

It can happen to anyone at any time. It happens to all of us as we age.

It can affect cognitive abilities, vision, hearing, speech or mobility – or some combination of those. 

You may have a picture in your mind of what a “disabled person” looks like, but many disabilities don’t “look” like anything. Cognitive disabilities are often overlooked, but are more prevalent than hearing and vision disabilities combined.

Disabilities can be…

PermanentTemporarySituational
ADHD
human head shape in profile with a nest of squiggly lines revealed inside		Sleep-deprived
eye with droopy lids and visible capillaries		Driving in traffic
automotive steering wheel
Blind
eye icon with a diagonal line across it		Just had eyes dilated
eye with large pupil and a drop of liquid near its edge		Bright sunlight
eye icon with small pupil and bright sun in the background
Deaf
ear with an x in front of it		Ear infection
ear with two jagged lines extending away from it		Noisy environment
ear with a group of vertical lines suggesting a sound wave
Nonverbal
two hands making a gesture		Mouth numb from dentist
tooth with a cluster of short lines extending from one corner		Don’t speak the language
planet earth with different letter symbols in speech bubbles, coming from opposite sides of the globe
Paralysis
upper torso with one arm hanging limp		Broken arm
arm in a cast		Broken mouse
computer mouse with one of the buttons broken off
Examples of permanent, temporary and situational disabilities affecting cognition, vision, hearing, speech and mobility.

Find more tools and guidance at the University of Michigan Digital Accessibility website.