What Is a Concrete Disability?

"Concrete" applied to disabilities means physical and mental impairments that are clear and undeniable, such as a severe birth defect or cerebral palsy. These things take no explanation to see that they exist, and no legal authority will argue that they are not impairments that leave a person less able to function than the average person. Concrete disabilities come in many forms and usually entitle people to special assistance ranging from a classroom aide in school to state financial support and housing.

Physical Disabilities

• Although it isn't a legal term, "concrete disabilities" general means the kind of disabilities we can all see and easily agree exist. Physical disabilities are typically the most obvious among these. Conditions that have people in wheelchairs, permanently using crutches and using special adaptive equipment including prosthetics and orthotics need little argument to qualify as disabilities. Some are lifelong conditions such as dwarfism, spina bifida and severe birth defects, while others may come from trauma or disease such as spinal chord injury, polio or multiple sclerosis.

Mental or Intellectual Disabilities

• The terminology has changed over time, but you may be familiar with "mental retardation," "mentally challenged," "developmentally disabled" or "intellectually disabled." All of these refer to cognitive and emotional impairments that have to do with the physical status of the brain. People with intellectual disabilities register at lower intelligence quotients (IQs) than the average person. While there certainly are people who are very mildly disabled and may be highly functional, many -- especially those with Down syndrome -- appear and act differently from other people. Their behavior, limited capacity to understand and perform many tasks and sometimes their appearance qualify their disabilities as concrete.

Sensory Impairments

• People who have difficulty or are unable to see, hear and speak also have concrete disabilities. There is no missing or contesting the fact that a blind person cannot see -- provided that the blindness is physical and not psychologically induced. People who have sensory disabilities are often able to adapt and lead highly functional lives thanks to educational techniques and continually advancing adaptive equipment.

Nonconcrete Disabilities

• Contrasts can be useful for understanding. Nonconcrete disabilities are those that aren't so easily seen and in many cases are not fully accepted by medical science or society. For example, many physicians strongly maintain that chronic fatigue syndrome is a physical disability. However, because it is a disorder without a conclusively identified cause and whose symptoms are similar to many nondisabling diseases and conditions, many people -- including those in the medical community -- question its validity. Other examples include narcolepsy and carpal tunnel syndrome, which are limited disabilities because people can remain high functioning and are not prevented from completing most tasks in life, despite the impairment and pain.