How accommodating is your business?
Business owners often tell me they don’t have enough customers with disabilities to warrant accommodation, but this is statistically improbable, with 1 in 7 Canadians having a disability. And as you can see from the following list, the majority of disabilities are non-visible. So really, how can you possibly know which of your customers have a disability?
Disability covers a broad range and degree of conditions. Some are temporary while others are permanent. Some will have been present from birth, while others may develop over time or occur as the result of an event or accident. Each disability comes with it’s own set of barriers to access and accommodation issues which then vary between individual.
While the following list is extensive, there are hundreds of disabilities that have not been included (please add in Comments section).
A
Acrophobia ~ ADD / ADHD ~ Addictions ~ Agoraphobia ~ Allergies (Scent, Food, Environmental, Chemical) ~ Alzheimer’s Disease ~ Amputation ~ Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) ~ Angina ~ Anxiety Disorders ~ Arthritis ~ Asperger Syndrome ~ Assistive Device Reliance ~ Asthma ~ Autism & Autism Spectrum Disorders ~ Auto-Immune Disorders
B
Back Injury ~ Bi-Polar Disorder ~ Bladder Disorder ~ Blindness ~ Blood Diseases & Hematological Disorders ~ Blurred Vision ~ Bowel Disorder ~ Brain Tumour ~ Breathing Issues ~ Broken Bone(s) ~ Bullous Diseases ~ Burns
C
Cancer & Neoplastic Disorders ~ Carpal Tunnel Syndrome ~ Cataract ~ Cavus Foot ~ Celiac Disease ~ Cerebral Hemorrhage ~ Cerebral Palsy ~ Chemical Sensitivities ~ Chromosome Anomaly ~ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome ~ Chronic Illnesses ~ Chronic Infections ~ Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy ~ Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ~ Chronic Pain ~ Circulatory Disease ~ Cognitive Impairment ~ Color Blindness ~ Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia ~ Congenital Heart Defect / Failure ~ Coronary Artery Disease ~ Crohn’s Disease ~ Curvature of the Spine ~ Cystic Fibrosis
D
Deafness ~ Degenerative Disc Disease ~ Dementia ~ Depression ~ Dermatitis ~ Developmental Disabilities ~ Dexterity Issues ~ Diabetes ~ Digestive System Disorders ~ Down Syndrome ~ Dyscalculia ~ Dyslexia
E
Eating Disorder ~ Echolalia ~ Electrocution ~ Emphysema ~ Endocrine System Disorders ~ Endometriosis ~ Environmental Sensitivities ~ Epilepsy
F
Failed Back Syndrome ~ Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder ~ Fibromyalgia ~ Foot Ulcers ~ Friedreich’s Ataxia ~ Fused Wrist
G
Genetic Photosensitivity Disorders ~ Genitourinary Disorders ~ Gravis
H
Hard Of Hearing ~ Head Injury ~ Hearing Loss ~ Heart Attack ~ Heart Defect / Disease ~ Hemophilia ~ Hepatitis ~ Herniated Discs ~ Hidradenitis Suppurativa ~ Hip Injury/Pain ~ HIV AIDS ~ Huntington’s Chorea ~ Hyperactivity ~ Hyperthyroidism ~ Hypoglycemia
I
Ichthyosis Diseases ~ Ileostomy ~ Immune Disorders ~ Intellectual Disabilities ~ Interstitial Cystitis
J
Joint Or Connective Tissue Problems
K
Kidney Disorders ~ Knee Injury/Pain
L
Learning Disabilities ~ Literacy Issues ~ Lumbar Disc Disease ~ Lupus ~ Lyme Disease
M
Malnutrition ~ Memory Loss ~ Meniere’s Disease ~ Mental Disabilities ~ Mobility Impairment ~ Mood Disorders ~ Multiple Sclerosis (MS) ~ Muscular Dystrophy (MD) ~ Musculoskeletal Disorders ~ Myasthenia
N
Nerve Damage ~ Neurological Disorders
O
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) ~ Osteoarthritis
P
Pain ~ Paralysis ~ Parkinson’s Disease ~ Personality Disorder ~ Phobias ~ Physical Disabilities ~ Polycystic Kidney Disease ~ Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) ~ Post-Polio Syndrome ~ Psychological Disabilities
Q
R
Reflex Symmetry Disorder ~ Renal Failure ~ Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
S
Scent Allergies ~ Schizophrenia ~ Scoliosis ~ Selective Mutism ~ Skin Impairments ~ Sleeping Disorder ~ Social Anxiety Disorder ~ Spastic Paralysis ~ Speech Disorder ~ Spina Bifida & Hydrocephalus ~ Spinal Cord Lesions ~ Spinal Injury/Pain ~ Spinal Stenosis ~ Spino-Cerebellar Degeneration ~ Stroke ~ Substance Abuse ~ Surgery
T
Tinnitus ~ Tourette’s Syndrome ~ Traumatic Brain Injury ~ Trigeminal Neuralgia Spinal Disorder ~ Tuberculosis
U
Ulcers
V
Vasculitis ~ Visual Impairment
W
Walking Impairment
X
Y
Z
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