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What Qualifies As Disabled in Illinois?

Disabilities affect a person's daily functions and ability for independent living. In Illinois, a disabled person refers to someone who is expected to be subject to physical, developmental, visual, hearing or mental challenges indefinitely. Disabled individuals may qualify to receive Social Security benefits through Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

  1. Physical Disability

    • Having a physical disability means an individual's normal physical ability or motor skills are significantly impaired resulting from a permanent physical loss, impairment or disease. Depending on the severity of the physical disability, a person may be unable to work or care for himself.

    Developmental Disability

    • A developmental disability is one that starts before age 18 and is attributed to physical or mental impairments. People with developmental disabilities require additional medical, educational, social and other services to assist them in developing needed skills and social support. These include autism, mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, Down syndrome and similar disorders.

    Visual Disability

    • A visual disability refers to complete absence of vision or vision that is so severely impaired that it can't be corrected with medication, surgery or corrective lenses. Visual disabilities may result from disease, trauma or other degenerative conditions. Those with severe visual impairments may be referred to as being legally blind, meaning their field of vision is less than 20 (being able to see things normally at 20 feet) in the better eye, or totally blind, meaning they completely lack visual perception.

    Hearing Disability

    • Having a hearing disability means there is a complete absence of hearing or hearing that is still severely impaired even with the use of hearing aids. Hearing impairments are caused by damage to one or more parts of the ear or failure of the auditory nerve.

    Mental Disability

    • A mental disability is the inability to meet individual or societal needs resulting from an emotional or psychological impairment or disease. This can refer to illnesses such as schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, dementia, neurosis and other disorders affecting cognition or causing mental impairment.

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