1. Physical disability. -
A. Locomotor disability (a person's inability to execute
distinctive activities associated with movement of self and objects resulting
from affliction of musculoskeletal or nervous system or both), including-
(a) "leprosy cured person" means a person who has
been cured of leprosy but is suffering from-
(i) loss of sensation in hands or feet as well as loss of
sensation and paresis in the eye and eye-lid but with no manifest deformity;
(ii) manifest deformity and paresis but having sufficient
mobility in their hands and feet to enable them to engage in normal economic
activity;
(iii) extreme physical deformity as well as advanced age
which prevents him/her from undertaking any gainful occupation, and the
expression "leprosy cured" shall construed accordingly;
(b) "cerebral palsy" means a Group of
non-progressive neurological condition affecting body movements and muscle
coordination, caused by damage to one or more specific areas of the brain,
usually occurring before, during or shortly after birth;
(c) "dwarfism" means a medical or genetic
condition resulting in an adult height of 4 feet 10 inches (147 centimeters) or
less;
(d) "muscular dystrophy" means a group of
hereditary genetic muscle disease that weakens the muscles that move the human
body and persons with multiple dystrophy have incorrect and missing information
in their genes, which prevents them from making the proteins they need for
healthy muscles. It is characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness,
defects in muscle proteins, and the death of muscle cells and tissue;
(e) "acid attack victims" means a person
disfigured due to violent assaults by throwing of acid or similar corrosive
substance.
B. Visual impairment-
(a) "blindness" means a condition where a person
has any of the following conditions, after best correction-
(i) total absence of sight; or
(ii) visual acuity less than 3/60 or less than 10/200
(Snellen) in the better eye with best possible correction; or
(iii) limitation of the field of vision subtending an angle
of less than 10 degree.
(b) "low-vision" means a condition where a person
has any of the following conditions, namely:-
(i) visual acuity not exceeding 6/18 or less than 20/60 upto
3/60 or upto 10/200 (Snellen) in the better eye with best possible corrections;
or
(ii) limitation of the field of vision subtending an angle
of less than 40 degree up to 10 degree.
C. Hearing impairment-
(a) "deaf" means persons having 70 DB hearing loss
in speech frequencies in both ears;
(b) "hard of hearing" means person having 60 DB to
70 DB hearing loss in speech frequencies in both ears;
D. "speech and language disability" means a
permanent disability arising out of conditions such as laryngectomy or aphasia
affecting one or more components of speech and language due to organic or
neurological causes.
2. Intellectual
disability, a condition characterised by significant limitation both in
intellectual functioning (reasoning, learning, problem solving) and in adaptive
behaviour which covers a range of every day, social and practical skills,
including-
(a) "specific learning disabilities" means a
heterogeneous group of conditions wherein there is a deficit in processing
language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself as a difficulty to
comprehend, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations and
includes such conditions as perceptual disabilities, dyslexia, dysgraphia,
dyscalculia, dyspraxia and developmental aphasia;
(b) "autism spectrum disorder" means a
neuro-developmental condition typically appearing in the first three years of
life that significantly affects a person's ability to communicate, understand
relationships and relate to others, and is frequently associated with unusual or
stereotypical rituals or behaviours.
3. Mental
behaviour. - "mental illness" means a substantial disorder of
thinking, mood, perception, orientation or memory that grossly impairs
judgment, behaviour, capacity to recognise reality or ability to meet the
ordinary demands of life, but does not include retardation which is a condition
of arrested or incomplete development of mind of a person, specially
characterised by subnormality of intelligence.
4. Disability
caused due to-
(a) chronic neurological conditions, such as-
(i) "multiple sclerosis" means an inflammatory,
nervous system disease in which the myelin sheaths around the axons of nerve
cells of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and
affecting the ability of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord to
communicate with each other;
(ii) "parkinson's disease" means a progressive
disease of the nervous system marked by tremor, muscular rigidity, and slow,
imprecise movement, chiefly affecting middle-aged and elderly people associated
with degeneration of the basal ganglia of the brain and a deficiency of the
neurotransmitter dopamine.
(b) Blood disorder-
(i) "haemophilia" means an inheritable disease,
usually affecting only male but transmitted by women to their male children,
characterised by loss or impairment of the normal clotting ability of blood so
that a minor wound may result in fatal bleeding;
(ii) "thalassemia" means a group of inherited
disorders characterised by reduced or absent amounts of haemoglobin.
(iii) "sickle cell disease" means a hemolytic
disorder characterised by chronic anemia, painful events, and various
complications due to associated tissue and organ damage; "hemolytic"
refers to the destruction of the cell membrane of red blood cells resulting in
the release of hemoglobin.
5. Multiple
Disabilities (more than one of the above specified disabilities) including deaf
blindness which means a condition in which a person may have combination of
hearing and visual impairments causing severe communication, developmental, and
educational problems.
6. Any other category as may be notified by the Central Government.