We will use the term "disability" very generally in this course. We will not attempt to address all of the issues of terminology. We have tried to use the most current, inclusive and respectful terms in general circulation among people with disabilities. If you find any of them offensive please us know. As much as possible, we will follow the trend in many disability communities to use functional terminology instead of medical classifications. In other words, we will focus on alternative methods of accomplishing things that might be difficult or impossible due to a physical or cognitive limitation.

According to the definitions in most government regulations, the term "disability" means, with respect to an individual -

1. A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual;
2. A record of such an impairment; or
3. Being regarded as having such an impairment.

If an individual meets any one of these three tests, he or she is considered to be an individual with a disability for purposes of coverage under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Substantially identical definitions are used by the Social Security Administration and other agencies to determine if an individual is eligible for financial benefits or services. A closer look at parts (2) and (3) of the above definition shows that people may be considered disabled even they would not use the term to describe themselves.