In 2018 the NWT Disabilities Council updated our organization's definition of disability, as per our 2018-2023 Strategic Planning goals. Our new definition of disability and accompanying disability value statements outline how our organization understands the experience of disability for the communities we serve in the NWT. Our new definition of disability and disability value statements are:
Definition of Disability
Disability is a dynamic lived experience of restricted or limited participation in life that results from the interaction of an individual’s bodily impairment and their physical and social environment.
Disability Value Statements
Disability is a dynamic experience that:
includes past, present, or future impairments,
can present apparently or non-apparently,
can present across the lifespan, and
can present permanently, temporarily, or episodically.
Disability is a complex phenomenon that encompasses many conditions of the mind and body that exist in different physical and social environments. As such, the boundaries between disability and ability are fluid and subjective; for this reason, the NWTDC will rely on self-identification of disability.
The NWTDC definition of disability is situated within the interactionalist approach to disability. The interactionalist approach acknowledges that the experience of disability results from the interaction of an individual’s body and their physical and social environmental factors.
The impact that disability has on a person is influenced by individual and social factors (e.g. age, gender identity, sexual orientation, culture, religious affiliation, race, and socioeconomic status, among others). For this reason, we acknowledge that the spectrum of lived experience of disability encompasses complex life circumstances, including, but not limited to: institutionalization, trauma, poverty, restricted housing options, and homelessness.
If you are interested, a detailed rationale for our new definition of disability and disability value statements is available HERE