Telephone users with disabilities - user categories and definitions

Telephones - What features do disabled people need?

Definitions

Impairment
is a loss of function compared with a defined norm.

Disability
arises when an impairment makes any task difficult or impossible to perform.

Handicap
is evident when the individual wishes to perform that task.

Disability
is also used as a general term covering all three of these defined meanings; it is used as such on this website.

A significant proportion of the population has impairments which reduce their ability to effectively use standard consumer products, such as the telephone. The impairment groups described in this booklet have been defined in terms of their functional ability, or lack of it, and how this relates to the use of telephones.

It is not uncommon for an individual to have more than one impairment; this is particularly common among older people.

The proportion of the population with impairments increases with age. The number of people over retirement age in Europe is likely to increase by over 1% per year for the next two decades, and as a result the number of impaired people will also increase.

Estimated population of European Union (population 385 million) aged 65 and over

Year	Estimate
1990	82 million
2000	90 million
2010	105 million
2020	120 million
2030	138 million

Disability category links
Hearing impairment - moderate.	Speech impairment - severe.
Hearing impairment - severe.	Limited dexterity.
Deafness.	Limited use of hands/arms.
Visual impairment - moderate.	Weak grip.
Visual impairment - severe.	Hand tremor.
Blindness.	Cognitive impairment.
Deaf-blindness.	Restricted mobility (lower limb).
Speech impairment - moderate.

How disabilities affect telephone use

Users with disabilities - the numbers

Telephone Features

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Published by Royal National Institute of the Blind on behalf of PhoneAbility
supported by Department of Trade and Industry and British telecommunications plc