According to the International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities and Handicaps (World Health Organization, 2001), any restriction or lack of ability to perform an activity in a manner or within the range considered normal for a human being. As the term reflects the consequences of impairment with regard to functional performance and activity by the individual, disabilities thus represent disturbances at the level of the whole person. Some would include developmental problems associated with social deprivation in the definition. The Ancient Greeks did not have a specific word for ‘disability’, but instead words like ‘unable’, and judged individuals as being such if they could not use prostheses. If they could, they might receive monetary assistance from the state to enable them to work. In cultures without prostheses such as wheelchairs and trained animal companions, individuals with dysfunctions might be considered to be more ‘unabled’ than ‘disabled’.
See Cerebral palsy, Developmental delay, Developmental disorders, Disorder, IDEA, Impairment, Learning disability, `mnetal retardation, Normality