What are disabilities?

Disabilities are things that make it harder for someone to do everyday activities, just like how a broken leg might make it hard for you to run or jump.

Imagine your friend has a wheelchair, and instead of walking up the stairs, they roll right past them. That’s a kind of disability called mobility difficulty, it makes moving around easier in some ways but harder in others.

Sometimes, disabilities are like missing pieces in a puzzle. For example, someone might have trouble seeing clearly, just like how you’d struggle to read a book if the letters were all blurry and wobbly. That’s called a vision disability.

Or maybe they can’t hear what people are saying, it's like having your ears covered with soft blankets. That’s a hearing disability.

Some disabilities you can see, like when someone uses sign language or has a guide dog. Others you might not notice at all, like when someone takes longer to read a sentence or needs extra time to write their name.

Disabilities are just different ways of doing things, and that’s okay!