FOI 24/25-1568 DOCUMENT 2 OFFICIAL For Internal Use Only
Description of Impairment Categories
- Intellectual – such as how you speak and listen, read and write, solve problems, and process and remember information.
An intellectual impairment may be considered a developmental disorder as it becomes apparent at an early age1. Without these skills, a person needs additional supports to succeed at school, work, or independent life. Conditions such as Down’s syndrome and cerebral palsy may be associated with intellectual impairments.
- Cognitive – such as how you think, learn new things, use judgment to make decisions, and pay attention.
Cognitive impairment involves various aspects of high-level mental functions and processes such as attention, memory, knowledge, decision-making, planning, reasoning, judgment, perception, comprehension, language, and visuospatial function2. There are some similarities with intellectual impairments however, cognitive impairments generally become apparent at a later stage in life and are associated with brain injury or pathology1. Conditions such as dementia and traumatic brain injury may cause cognitive impairments.
- Neurological – such as how your body functions.
Neurological Impairments occurs when there is a change in function of the nervous system, which includes the brain and spinal cord2. Damage to either or both areas can affect the way the nervous system processes information. Parkinsons disease, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis3 are conditions which have a neurological basis.
- Sensory – such as how you see or hear
Sensory impairment most commonly relates to hearing or visual loss but can include all senses2.
- Physical – such as the ability to move parts of your body
Physical impairment may cause limitations in posture control, moving and coordinating parts of the body or in stamina2. There are many conditions which can cause a physical impairment including amputation of a limb, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, heart disease.
- Psychosocial - This means you have reduced capacity to do daily life activities and tasks due to your mental health.
Participants with a psychosocial impairment may find it hard to engage in education, training and employment or engage with the community. Mental health conditions such as bipolar affective disorder and schizophrenia are commonly associated with psychosocial impairments1 but other conditions such as autism could also have associated psychosocial impairments.
1 The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM–5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013)
2 International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health: ICF. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2001.
3 World Health Organization(WHO). (1993). The ICD-10 classification of mental and behavioural disorders. World Health Organization. OFFICIAL
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