Disability Classifications

The one thing that surprised me the most is the different categories of disabilities. I was under the assumption that all disabilities blend under one classification. However, I was wrong. There is a broad term which is disability, it is then is broken down into four classifications. Within the four classifications, is where you will the different type of diseases or impairments that are categorized as a disability. When we discussed psychiatric disability, I was shocked to see that anxiety was considered a disability. I know I have mentioned this multiple times in previous papers, but I still find it surprising. I think that the reason I find it surprising is that I was recently diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. I am sure that there are

My mom has bipolar disorder and depression. Most of my life I had to deal with her denial of not being mentally ill. There were hard times but now that she accepted her mental illness, her behavior is leveled out. However, my dad has diabetes and high blood sugar. Even though diabetes and high blood sugar are categorized under a disability, I worry these illnesses will cause my dad to obtain a disability. When I compare my parents, I know that my mom does not have modifiable factors contributing to her disability. However, my dad does. He can make small changes to his diet and activity level. If he made the small changes is overall health would improve and lessen his chance of acquiring a disability. Recently, my dad has started to eat healthier and increased his activity level. When it comes to disabilities and how they would affect, they make me want to be proactive and advocate that particular person. I want them to overcome the hardship of the disability while having the resources and the support system they need. That what makes me excited to be an Occupational Therapist working with individuals with

However, the functional model is the main model I will work with because as an Occupational Therapist, I focus on the patients’ ability to perform activities of daily living. This is what my specialty is in, so it makes sense that I would primarily use the functional model. I will reteach individuals how to these daily activities but with modification due to their disability. For example, I would reteach individuals who have had a stroke how button of their shirt. I believe that I will use the environment model when I evaluate patients’ homes to see how well they can navigate through their homes successfully. However, I would mostly use this model when I was working with individuals who have sensory delayed disabilities and working with psychiatric disabilities because the environment can negatively or positively influence their