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5. CAUSES OF PHYSICAL DISABILITY Physical disability may either be congenital or caused by a condition or event in later life, for instance injury, muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, amputation, heart disease, pulmonary disease, etc. Some persons may also have hidden (invisible) physical disabilities, which include pulmonary disease, respiratory disorders, epilepsy and other limiting conditions. According to the time the disability occurs, we can differentiate: congenital and acquired disabilities. Congenital disability means that the disorder developed before or during the birth of a child. Acquired disability means that the affected person developed his/her impairment by external causes any time during his/her life. Further, time of disability occurrence can be divided into three phases. If the condition is present before the child is born, we can talk about prenatal ethilogy. This is commonly associated with diseases the mother acquired during her pregnancy, external influences such as poisoning, alcohol or drugs consumption during pregnancy or using wrong medication. Genetic causes may include mutation of genes or be based on genetic incompatibilities between parents. Perinatal ethiology embraces the time during the birth process. The child being born may suffer from prolonged lack of oxygen due to obstruction of the respiratory tract or injury to the brain during birth. Also premature birth may cause the underdeveloped child to develop adverse physical conditions. Finally, postnatal ethiology encompasses time shortly after birth. The child may be involved in an accident, may develop serious infection or other illnesses that causes impairment after birth. |