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Signs and Symptoms
There are several factors indicating whether an individual is in fact suffering from a physical disability. Some symptoms are acquired from serious injuries and developed diseases. Meanwhile other symptoms tie in with genetics and are thereby present with the individual from birth. A cross sectional analysis of data obtained in an observational cohort study reports that physical disabilities are deemed to be influenced by factors including gender, health status and type of disease. These signs differ for the varying types of physical disabilities.

Arthritis and other Musculoskeletal Diseases
Research data suggests that various musculoskeletal diseases including arthritis can be identified by frequent experiences of fatigue while performing everyday physical tasks. The exhaustion coupled with excruciating joint pains is what disables an individual from performing regular physical tasks. This would be an obvious symptom for most musculoskeletal diseases. Estimates of over one hundred sub-types exist in classifying arthritis. Each sub-type has its corresponding symptoms which distinguishes one condition from another. Morning stiffness and temporary loss of movement are known signs for Osteoarthritis. On another note, reduced range of motion and joint swelling are solid indicators of Inflammatory Arthritis. In summary, a person can be easily diagnosed with arthritis and other musculoskeletal diseases if they are experiencing some sort of physical impairment.

Cerebral Palsy
Brain imaging techniques shed light on a condition affecting the control movements children acquire during normal stages of early development.Cerebral palsy causes children to encounter difficulties with daily functions such as talking, eating, posture and movement. Similar to arthritis, there are several subtypes for cerebral palsy – each consisting of unique characteristics which differentiate one condition from another. Muscle tension and weakness affecting only one side of the body is referred to as hemiplegia. Diplegia on the other hand refers specifically to muscle tension and weakness in the lower part of the body. Quadriplegia is the term to describe muscle discomfort and weakness targeting both arms and legs. Lastly, the term ataxia is used to describe a generalized condition when an individual is struggling with balance and coordination.

Visual Impairment
Medication, surgical operation (laser eye surgery), or contact lenses/glasses are generally viewed as a solution to any mild impairment in vision. Severe visual impairments can seriously disable an individual from performing day-to-day tasks. Unfortunately visual impairments at this level of severity tend to have no fix - leaving the affected individual permanently disabled. Visual impairments are easily identified during the early stages of child development. Abnormal responses to bright light, lack of eye-contact, and jerky eyeball movements are only a few of many indicators that are used to diagnose a child with a visual impairment. Other concise signs of impaired vision include the constant bumping into objects, touching eyeballs with fingers, and the concerning lack of facial expression.

Hearing Impairment
Auditory deficiency coincides with a simple diagnosis. Signs of impaired hearing can be divided into two separate sub-categories – Social symptoms and Physical Symptoms. Social symptoms are seemingly more difficult to link with a hearing disorder. Such symptoms include avoidance of social settings and withdrawal from conversations. Physical Symptoms are far more comprehensible in the sense of making that connection to hearing impairment during the stage of diagnosis. These symptoms would include the difficulty to understand words, hearing consonants and the softening of speech and other sounds.