This page will be regularly updated with information on different types of disabilities and how they can affect jobseekers searching and applying for employment opportunities.
Some jobseekers who have a physical, mental or psychological impairment that may inhibit their daily activities, for instance mobility or self care issues. There are many different types of disabilities that can affect an individual, some may have a chronic illness or behavioural or psychological problems. Some may be long term and others temporary conditions like short term blindness.
A person can be born disabled or can develop a disability later on in life through the deterioration of their health because of disease or accident etc. Some people may require medical care to help them cope with their condition.
Disability legislation
In the United Kingdom there is legislation to stop employers discriminating against people with disabilities. The government introduced the Disability Discrimination Act to ensure that everyone is treated the same in all aspects of daily life, from job hunting to having access to buildings and participating in sports activities.
Below is some basic information on the different types of disability:
Blindness
Some people who are visually impaired are classified as totally blind and others partially sighted. Those who are totally blind are classified as being NLP or no light perception. As with most disabilities some individuals are born blind while others become blind through accidents or illness. Some blind people use a white cane or a guide dog to help them walk around streets, this can inhibit them from applying for and doing certain types of jobs.
Deafness
This describes a condition where a person has partial or no hearing at all. This can be caused by genetic factors, for instance they are born that way, or through illness or accident that affects a persons ear canal and can lead to a hearing impairment. There can be many causes for ear deafness for instance by diseases like meningitis and otosclerosis. There are various hearing aids that can assist people who are not totally deaf. One of the most common aids used by the deaf community is called a electroacoustic apparatus, that is worn by a person in their deaf ear, some of these are battery powered. A audiogram is a technique and method used to measure and judge a person hearing loss.
Listed below are a few of the different types of disability jobs that you could do when working with deaf people:-
British Sign Language jobs – there are many vacancies for positions where you could either teach sign language to both deaf and non deaf students, or act as a interpreter. You would use hand shapes orientation and facial features to communicate with those whose hearing is impaired. Typically there are many jobs vacancies for this type of role in public service employers like the NHS, charities or police forces etc.
Audiologist jobs – these are healthcare jobs where you will treat patients who have various hearing problems like sensory-neural hearing loss. You could be fitting ear plugs in adults or be running school hearing screening programs for children. It is a job where you have to be patient and act as a counsellor as some people can become very frustrated whilst they are being examined.
Related topics:
Discrimination in the workplace