Different disabilities
On these pages we hope to point you in the right direction for information and support regarding specific disabilities and health conditions.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
ADHD
Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) refer to a group of behaviours that include inattentiveness, restlessness, hyperactivity and impulsiveness. Visit the netdoctor ADHD page.
AIDS
AIDS is not a single disease or condition. It is a term that describes the point when a person’s immune system can no longer cope because of the damage caused by HIV and they start to get one or more specific illnesses. The term AIDS is now rarely used. It is more usual to talk of late-stage or advanced HIV infection. Visit the Terrence HIggins Trust website.
Autism
Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how a
person communicates with, and relates to, other people. It also affects
how they make sense of the world around them. In the UK more than half a million people have autism. Visit the National Autistic Society website.
Asperger syndrome
Asperger syndrome is a type of autism. People with Asperger syndrome are
often above average intelligence. Visit the National Autistic Society website.
Asthma
Asthma is a condition that affects the airways – the small tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs. When the airways become irritated, they tighten, become narrower or inflamed and can make it difficult for a person to breath. Visit the Asthma UK website.
Aquired Brain Injury
An Acquired Brain Injury is an injury caused to
the brain since birth. This could be as a result of many things such as a fall,
a road accident, tumour and stroke. Visit Headway's website
Arthritis
Arthritis basically means inflammation of the joints. Around 10 million people in the UK (of all ages) have arthritis and most will experience pain and difficulty moving around. For more information visit the Arthritis Care website.
B
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder is a severe mental illnesss that involves extreme highs and lows. In between times people may experience lengthy periods of stability. Around 1% of the population suffer from Bipolar disorder (formerly known as manic depression). Visit Mind or Rethink's website.
Blindness
See visual impairment
C
Cancer
There are more than 200 types of cancer, each with different causes, symptoms and treatments. In the UK, someone is diagnosed with cancer every two minutes (Statistics: Cancer Research UK). Visit Cancer Research and Macmillan websites.
Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy is a condition that affects movement, posture and co-ordination. It is a wide ranging condition that affects people in many different ways. Visit Scope's website.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (otheriwse known as ME or Myalgic Encephalopathy)
People who suffer from this condition experience debilitating fatigue along with painful muscles and joints, disordered
sleep, poor memory and concentration. Visit the ME Association's website.
D
Deafness
See hearing impairment
Dementia
The term Dementia is used to describe different brain disorders that have
in common a loss of brain function that is usually progressive and severe. Visit the Alzheimers Society website.
Depression
When depression is severe it can result in long lasting low moods that affect your ability to
function, feel pleasure, or take an interest in things. Visit Rethink or Mind websites.
Diabetes
Diabetes is a condition where the amount of glucose in your blood is too high. This is because the pancreas is not producing enough insulin (or the insulin is not working) to help glucose enter your body’s cells. Symptoms can include extreme tiredness, thirst and frequently passing urine. Around 2.8 million people in the Uk have diabetes (statistic: Diabetes UK). Visit Diabetes UK website.
Down's syndrome
Down's syndrome is a lifelong condition that occurs when a baby's cells contain an extra chromosome 21. Visit the Down's Syndrome Association's website
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty which affects the development of literacy and language related skills. Visit the British Dyslexia Association or Dyslexia Action.
Dyspraxia
Dyspraxia is generally recognised to be an impairment of
the organisation of movement, other difficulties may include problems with language, perception and thought. Visit the Dyspraxia Foundation
E
Eating Disorders
Eating disorders can include conditions such as anorexia, bulimia or binge eating. Often people with eating
disorders say that the eating disorder is the only way they feel they
can stay in control of their life and some people are also affected by self harm or alcohol or drug misuse. Visit the Beat website
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a condition where people experience recurrent seizures. A seizure is caused by a sudden burst of excess electrical activity in the brain, causing a temporary disruption in the normal messages passing between brain cells. Visit the Epilepsy Action website
F
Facial Disfigurement
Over one million adults and children in the UK have significant disfigurements to their face or body from many causes (statistic: Changing Faces). Visit Changing Faces website.
Fybromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a chronic musculoskeletal condition of widespread pain and profound fatigue. Fibromyalgia means pain in the fibrous tissues in the body. Visit Fybromyalgia Association UK or UK Fybromyalgia websites.
G
No listings yet. Have we missed something? Let us know. Contact geraldine.scott-smith@pluss.org.uk
Heart Conditions
Heart disease is a term used to describe many conditions including cardiovascular disease, angina and heart attacks. Visit the British Heart Foundation website.
Hearing Impairment
Around 9 million people in the Uk are deaf or hard of hearing. Visit the RNID website.
HIV
HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. HIV infects and gradually destroys an infected person's immune system, reducing their protection against infection and cancers. Visit the Terrence Higgins Trust website.
No listings yet. Have we missed something? Let us know. Contact geraldine.scott-smith@pluss.org.uk
No listings yet. Have we missed something? Let us know. Contact geraldine.scott-smith@pluss.org.uk
No listings yet. Have we missed something? Let us know. Contact geraldine.scott-smith@pluss.org.uk
L
Learning Disability
There are many different types of learning disability, most of which develop before a baby is born. A learning disability is a lifelong condition - people with a learning disability find it harder to learn, understand and communicate. There are 1.5 million people with a learning disability in the UK (statistic: Mencap). Vist the Mencap or BILD website's.
M
Mental Health Issues
1 in 4 people are affected by a mental health issue each year (statistic: Mental Health Foundation). Conditions can include anxiety, depression, OCD, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia - the extent to which people are effected by symptoms varies enormously. Visit Rethink, Mind or the Mental Health Foundation websites.
Motor Neurone Disease
Motor Neurone Disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks the upper and lower motor neurones. This leads to weakness and wasting of muscles, causing loss of mobility in the limbs, and difficulties with speech, swallowing and breathing.Visit the Motor Neurone Disease Association website.
Multiple Sclerosis
MS is the result of damage to myelin - a protective sheath surrounding nerve fibres of the central nervous system. This damage disrupts the way messages are carried to and from the brain and so can interfere with a range of the body's functions. Around 100,000 people in the UK have MS. (Statistic: Multiple Sclerosis Society). Visit the Multiple Sclerosis Trust or Multiple Sclerosis Society websites.
Muscular Dystrophy
Muscular dystrophy causes muscles to waste and weaken. Over 70,000 people in the UK are affected (statistic: Muscular Dystrophy Campaign) Visit the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign website.
N
Nervous Breakdown
Breakdown is a general term that people use to describe a very wide range of experiences. The term nervous breakdown broadly refers to a specific acute period of distress where an individual feels they have reached crisis point and may be temporarily unable to function in normal daily life. Visit Mind's website.
O
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder is a serious anxiety-related
condition where a person experiences frequent intrusive and unwelcome
obsessional thoughts, often followed by repetitive compulsions, impulses
or urges. Visit the OCD UK website.
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis literally means ‘porous bones’ and is often referred to as the ‘fragile bone disease’.
Visit the National Osteporosis Society website.
No listings yet. Have we missed something? Let us know. Contact geraldine.scott-smith@pluss.org.uk
No listings yet. Have we missed something? Let us know. Contact geraldine.scott-smith@pluss.org.uk
R
Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)
RSI is an umbrella term that refers to damaged muscles, nerves, tendons, tendon sheaths or other soft tissues resulting from over or misuse. Visit the RSI Awareness website.
S
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia can be thought of as experiencing episodes during which reality is perceived differently. This might mean hallucinating; seeing or hearing things that other do not, or having delusions. Visit Rethink or Mind websites.
Self Harming
Self-harm is a broad term. People may injure themselves by cutting or burning their skin, hitting themselves, taking a drug overdose, swallowing or putting other things inside themselves. Visit Mind and Rethink websites.
Spina Bifida
Spina bifida occurs when a fault in the development of the spinal cord and surrounding bones (vertebrae) leaves a gap or split in the spine. Spina bifida literally means ‘split spine’. Visit the Association for Spina bifida hydrocephalus website.
Speech impairment
For more information on speech and language impairments visit the Afasic website.
Spinal Cord Injury
For more information on spinal cord injuries visit the Spinal Injuries Association website.
Stress
The Stress Management Society defines stress as 'a situation where demands on a person exceed that person’s resources or ability to cope'.
The Health and Safety Executive says there is a link between stress and ill health. Its research with Personnel Today Magazine shows that over 105 million days are lost to stress each year – costing UK employers £1.24 billion. (statistic taken from The Stress Management Society). Visit the Stress Management Society website.
Stroke
For your brain to function, it
needs a constant blood supply, which provides vital nutrients and oxygen
to the brain cells. A stroke happens when the blood supply to part of
the brain is cut off and brain cells are damaged or die. Visit The Stroke Association website.
T
Thrombosis
Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system. Visit the Lifeblood: Thrombosis Charity website.
Tourettes syndrome
Tourettes is a neurological condition. Symptoms include tic's, and involuntary sounds and movements. Visit the Tourettes Action website.
No listings yet. Have we missed something? Let us know. Contact geraldine.scott-smith@pluss.org.uk
V
Visual impairment
Almost two million people in the UK are living with sight loss, around 370,000 of whom are registered blind of partially sighted (Statistic:RNIB 2011). For more information visit the RNIB website.
No listings yet. Have we missed something? Let us know. Contact geraldine.scott-smith@pluss.org.uk
No listings yet. Have we missed something? Let us know. Contact geraldine.scott-smith@pluss.org.uk
No listings yet. Have we missed something? Let us know. Contact geraldine.scott-smith@pluss.org.uk
Z
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In the main, the description on each disability and condition listed above has been informed by the organisation we have provided the relevant link to.
If we have missed a specific conditon or disability, do please let me know - contact geraldine.scott-smith@pluss.org.uk
