Disability Awareness: Home

A disability is any condition of the body or mind (impairment) that makes it more difficult for the person with the condition to do certain activities (activity limitation) and interact with the world around them (participation restrictions).

There are many types of disabilities, such as those that affect a person’s:

• Vision
• Movement
• Thinking
• Remembering
• Learning
• Communicating
• Hearing
• Mental health
• Social relationships

Although “people with disabilities” seems to refer to a single population, this is actually a diverse group of people with a wide range of needs. Two people with the same type of disability can be affected in very different ways. Some disabilities may be hidden or not easy to see. People with disabilities are one of the nation’s largest minority groups, and the only group that ANY OF US can become a member of at any time.

In the United States1 in 4 adults (27%) live with a disability. Of those adults with a disability:

• 12.1 percent have a mobility disability with serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs.
• 12.8 percent have a cognition disability with serious difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions.
• 7.2 percent have an independent living disability with difficulty doing errands alone.
• 6.1 percent are deaf or have serious difficulty hearing.
• 4.8 percent have a vision disability with blindness or serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses.
• 3.6 percent have a self-care disability with difficulty dressing or bathing.

In 2019–20, some 21 percent of undergraduates and 11 percent of graduate students reported having a disability.

Among undergraduates, the percentage who reported having a disability was

• 18 percent for male students;
• 22 percent for female students; and
• 54 percent for nonbinary students.

Some disabilities are obvious, and many disabilities are not apparent unless you know the person well.  However, 27% of the United States population lives - and often prospers - with a disability. You may have a disability, you might become disabled, and you certainly know at least a few people with disabilities.

At Renton Technical College the Disability Resource Services department provides accommodations to students with disabilities and health conditions. DRS can also provide resources on and off-campus for students with disabilities. Their office hours are Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., in Building J, Room 218. Their email is drs@rtc.edu, and their telephone is 425-235-7854