Learn to be an effective support system for someone living with a disability. Be familiar with laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act and how they may apply in your situation.
People living with disabilities require special assistance to live independently. Disability services Melbourne care includes personal assistance and home health services as well as respite care that allows families to take a break from caring for their loved ones.
What is a disability?
Disability refers to any condition which prevents someone from participating fully in daily life activities such as working and caring for themselves, which in turn can reduce enjoyment. It is therefore essential that one understands all types of disabilities.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) safeguards people with disabilities against workplace discrimination. According to this statute, disability can be defined as any impairment “medically determinable that substantially restricts one or more major life activities”.
Disability care encompasses an array of services designed to enable people with disabilities to live independent lives, such as support workers and respite care. Support workers may assist with everyday tasks like housework or more complex needs like continence management; their availability can range from just several hours up to 24-hour care based on an individual’s requirements.
Causes of disability
Disability can result from illness, injury, congenital conditions or ageing or environmental factors. People living with disabilities tend to have greater healthcare needs than people without disabilities due to being at increased risk of noncommunicable diseases and are thus likely to require greater health services overall.
Musculoskeletal diseases such as arthritis are a leading cause of disability, both temporary and permanent depending on its severity. Other sources of disability may include cancer and heart conditions; smoking, poor diet, lack of aerobic physical activity and workplace exposure to toxic chemicals could all play a part.
Certain disabilities are inherited, making the chances of having children with similar disorders higher among those whose siblings have them. Other disabilities are acquired throughout life – for instance blindness and deafness are more commonly acquired disorders than others.
Types of disability
Disability care refers to any number of services which may benefit those living with disabilities. These may include daily living assistance and communication assistance among others. Disability care can help improve a person’s quality of life while helping them operate more independently.
There are various kinds of disabilities, each one impacting its victims in unique ways. Disabilities may interfere with a person’s ability to think, move, see, communicate or manage emotions and mental wellbeing.
There are various categories of disabilities, including physical, sensory and developmental. Each of these has subcategories that further describe a person’s particular issues – physical disabilities include issues that limit mobility such as loss of limbs or spinal cord damage that limit one’s mobility; sensory disabilities might include hearing or visual issues preventing people from performing everyday activities as usual; developmental issues involve issues that impact development and cognitive processing skills in a person resulting in cognitive difficulties that hamper life outcomes.
Symptoms of disability
People living with disabilities may display various symptoms depending on their condition. Some symptoms can be more obvious, like missing limbs or blindness; other times symptoms may be more subtle.
Intellectual disability symptoms may include limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior, such as difficulty learning, reasoning and problem-solving as well as difficulty communicating with other people and accessing health care or support services.
Other disabilities may cause physical, musculoskeletal or behavioral complications for their carriers. Spinal cord injuries may impact on bowel and bladder function. Some disabilities can result in fatigue, lack of energy or feeling tired all of the time; others could lead to infections like MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). MRSA infections tend to strike hospitals or health care facilities more commonly.
Treatments for disability
There are various treatments for disability available that can improve quality of life for those affected, including medication, assistive technology and community support services.
Medication can provide relief for physical symptoms of disability, such as pain. They may also help ease mental health symptoms like stress and depression.
Disability services provide disabled people with the equipment they require to live independently, such as scooters and power chairs, and arrange social activities that promote interaction among fellow members of their community.
Disability care services may offer respite care services that provide family carers a break from their caring responsibilities, so they can spend time with other family members or simply recharge themselves. This is particularly valuable as caregivers are at risk of burnout.