disability

Medically determinable impairment of body or mind that restricts, or causes loss of, a person's functional ability to carry on his or her normal activities. Disabilities are commonly measured by the extent to which the disabled person is unable to engage in gainful employment on a continuing basis. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) describes a disability as a "Physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities." It considers a major life activity as the one that an average person can perform with little or no difficulty, such as seeing, speaking, hearing, walking, traveling, working, and sleeping. See also handicap.