He finds the world overwhelming and this causes him considerable anxiety. He also has difficulty communicating and interacting with other people.Īhmed doesn’t think he’s disabled as he’s not physically impaired. It might cause you pain, make things take much longer than they should or mean that you’re unable to do an activity more than once.Īhmed is autistic.

Your impairment doesn’t have to stop you doing anything, as long as it makes it harder. It still has to have a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out day-to-day activities. If you’re suffering from stress, you might have mental impairments - like difficulty concentrating - as well as physical impairments such as extreme tiredness and difficulty sleeping. It could be the result of a medical condition - like arthritis in your hands that means you can’t grip or carry things as well as other people.Īn impairment doesn’t have to be a diagnosed medical condition. You have an ‘impairment’ if your physical or mental abilities are reduced in some way compared to most people. These are covered in Schedule 1, Part 1 of the Equality Act 2010 and in Regulation 7 of the Equality Act 2010 (Disability) Regulations 2010.

a severe, long-term disfigurement - for example severe facial scarring or a skin disease.

an HIV infection - even if you don't have any symptoms.

a visual impairment - this means you’re certified as blind, severely sight impaired, sight impaired or partially sighted.cancer, including skin growths that need removing before they become cancerous.Some impairments are automatically treated as a disability. that impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.you have a physical or mental impairment.The definition is set out in section 6 of the Equality Act 2010. For example, you might be covered if you have a learning difficulty, dyslexia or autism. The definition is quite wide - so check it even if you don’t think you’re disabled. The Equality Act 2010 sets out when someone is considered to be disabled and protected from discrimination.

To have an effect on someone