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Developmental Disability

There are four main types of developmental disorders. Many different subsets of disabilities nest under these four main groups; nervous system disabilities, sensory-related disabilities, metabolic disabilities, and degenerative disorders.

Examples of developmental disabilities include autism, ADHD, brain injury, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome, intellectual disability, and spina bifida.

Neurodivergent Condition

Judy Singer, a sociologist who has autism, started using the term “neurodiversity” in the late 1990s. It refers to the concept that certain developmental disorders are normal variations in the brain. There are diagnostic labels used to explain the diverse ways of thinking, learning, processing, and behaving. And people who have these features also have certain strengths.

Examples of Neurodivergent conditions include Autism, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD), Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, OCD, and Tourette’s syndrome.

Chronic Disability

Chronic diseases are defined broadly as conditions that last 1 year or more and require ongoing medical attention or limit activities of daily living or both.

Examples of chronic disabilities are heart disease, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, stroke, pulmonary conditions, asthma, epilepsy, and mental illness.

Situational Disability or Episodic Impairment

An episodic impairment is any disorder characterized by the appearance of symptoms in discrete, often brief, periods or episodes.

Examples of episodic impairments would be depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other trauma and stressor-related disorders. These could be caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, pregnancy, work-related challenges, financial difficulties, family situations, gun violence, or civil unrest.