Version 6.04 (002)

TAG: Disability

Disability is an impairment that may be physical, cognitive, intellectual, mental, sensory, developmental, or some combination of these that results in restrictions on an individual’s ability to participate in what is considered “normal” in their everyday society. A disability may be present from birth or occur during a person’s lifetime.

Disabilities is an umbrella term, covering impairments, activity limitations, and participation restrictions. An impairment is a problem in body function or structure; an activity limitation is a difficulty encountered by an individual in executing a task or action; while a participation restriction is a problem experienced by an individual in involvement in life situations. Disability is thus not just a health problem. It is a complex phenomenon, reflecting the interaction between features of a person’s body and features of the society in which he or she lives.

Disability is a contested concept, with different meanings for different communities.[2] It may be used to refer to physical or mental attributes that some institutions, particularly medicine, view as needing to be fixed (the medical model). It may refer to limitations imposed on people by the constraints of an ableist society (the social model). Or the term may serve to refer to the identity of people with disabilities.

The discussion over disability’s definition arose out of disability activism in the U.S. and U.K. in the 1970s, which challenged how the medical concept of disability dominated perception and discourse about disabilities. Debates about proper terminology and their implied politics continue in disability communities and the academic field of disability studies. In some countries, the law requires that disabilities are documented by a healthcare provider in order to assess qualifications for disability benefits.

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Projects with this TAG (2)

Activity within the Rai-LIS Project

AN AVATAR FOR ITALIAN SIGN LANGUAGE

Rai realized four virtual LIS interpreters, developed by adopting the latest computer graphics technologies and the use of innovative platforms.
This research activity will allows RAI to manage the entire process of generating new contents in LIS for future services for deaf people.

Active project

Stretched TV for improved accessibility

TV adapted to its time

The film and television have undergone an extraordinary evolution in the technical means as in content. The need to keep up with the times and with a society living in ever-increasing pace has profoundly changed the way of realizing television and radio programs. The manner of conducting the programs has changed dramatically from the fifties to the present, from a television in black and white that “entered” into the homes with discretion and played just a few hours of the day of a program like the present with channels broadcasting 24 hours daily and characterized by fast tempos and rhythms. the user is also changed, now the viewer quickly select with the remote control a number of channels to decide what to watch and with TVs connected to the network selects the contents and realizes its own schedule. People with disabilities and the elderly, by contrast, strongly demanding the reduction of the complexity of television and the reduction of technological barriers. The project Stretch TV, launched by RAI – Centre for Research and Technological Innovation and RAI – Social Secretariat, aims to develop a technological solution that allows to significantly improve the usability of television content by persons with sensory disabilities and / or cognitive and the elderly.