When a person has disabilities with their senses, like vision, smell, hearing, touch, etc., it is known as sensory disabilities. People suffering from sensory disabilities have issues while processing various senses from the outside because their senses do not work properly. It gets more complicated if the person suffers from vision or hearing issues, as most of our information processing, as high as 95%, occurs from those places to our body.
In this article, we will talk about the various different types of sensory impairment people suffering from:
Vision Impairment
There are two categories of vision impairment, partial/low sight and total loss of sight (blindness). Both can occur due to various diseases, health issues, trauma, or genetic factors. Some people have this condition since they are born, while others can get it at a later stage in their life. Some types of vision impairment can be treated, as the patient will see once again. People might also lose their vision with age.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
This disability stays with a person for a lifetime and influences the way they take information from around. Sensory impairment has a wide range of effects, and it can have different impacts on individuals, depending on the degree of autism they are suffering from. This disorder has a ‘spectrum’ because it comes with a wide range of difficulties that an individual might face. The disorder is quite complex and is yet not fully understood by medical science. No one knows the cause of this disease; it might be genetic or occur due to the surrounding environment.
Hearing Impairment
Hearing impairment can have different degrees- partially deaf and fully deaf. The ear is divided into different segments, and damage to any of that (especially the inner segment of the ear) leads to this impairment. The extent of the disability depends on the amount of damage. Ear bone issues, genetic issues, damaged nerve, trauma, noise pollution, aging, and various health issues can cause this disability.
Sensory Processing Disorder(SPD)
People suffering from SPD have issues processing the information that they receive through their senses. They might misinterpret the information received from the outside world, as they cannot understand touch, sound, or other movements. The main reason behind this disorder is that the brain cannot analyze the data from any sense. Thus the people might suffer from disabilities of more than one sense. ASD, Dyslexia, etc., all come under SPD.
There are many more types of sensory disabilities, which are complex and might affect their overall personality.
