Americans with Disabilities Act

questions & answers

Question: What is a disability under the ADA?

Answer: Not every health problem counts as a disability under the ADA. The ADA specifically defines disability as: A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, or a record or history of such an impairment, or when people treat you like you have an impairment, whether or not your really have one. Some things are obviously "disabilities" under the ADA. For example, if you are paralyzed from the waist down, you are substantially limited in the major life activity of walking. But it is less clear if other impairments are "disabilities" under the ADA. There have been many lawsuits trying to figure out if specific impairments are "disabilities" protected by the ADA. Some other examples of "disabilities" include bad back problems, having AIDS and HIV- positive, schizophrenia, and bi-polar disorder.