Please see below for more information on some of the most common disabilities.
Disability Australia Hub will connect you with information about the NDIS and disability organisations around Australia in your language.
Disability Information
About Disabilities
Disability Information
Disability Australia Hub will connect you with information about the NDIS and disability organisations around Australia in your language.
Select a disability
Acquired Brain Injury
Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) refers to any damage to the brain that occurred after birth. Common causes of ABI include accidents, …
Advocacy Information
Sunshine Butterflies recognises the importance of ensuring our Members’ right to use an advocate to act on their behalf at any …
Angelman Syndrome
Angelmans Syndrome is a rare genetic disorder affecting approx. 1 in every 15,000 to 20,000 people. Angelmans Syndrome affects …
Asperges
Asperger syndrome was generally considered to be on the “high functioning” end of the spectrum. Affected children and adults …
Autism
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and autism are both general terms for a group of complex disorders of brain development. In …
Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral Palsy—also known as CP—is a condition caused by injury to the parts of the brain that control our ability to use our …
Chronic Disabilities
Many illnesses and health conditions can be classified under the broad heading of chronic disease. Chronic diseases are mostly …
Cystic Fibrosis
Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is the most common life threatening, recessive genetic condition affecting Australian children.
Symptoms …
Down Syndrome
Down Syndrome is the most common and readily identifiable chromosomal condition associated with intellectual disabilities. It is …
Dravets Syndrome
Dravet syndrome, also called severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy (SMEI), is a severe form of epilepsy. It appears during the …
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a tendency to have recurring seizures. There are many different types of seizures but they are always due to …
Hearing Impairment
Hearing is one of our five senses. Hearing gives us access to sounds in the world around us—people’s voices, their words, a car …
Intellectual Disability
Intellectual disability is a term used when a person has certain limitations in mental functioning and in skills such as …
Juvenile Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes (or diabetes mellitus) is a life-long autoimmune disease that usually occurs in childhood but can be diagnosed …
Kids without Diagnosis
A diagnosis is an important piece of the puzzle we are trying to solve when we try to help kids with disabilities learn how to …
Language Development
There are many kinds of speech and language disorders that can affect children. In this fact sheet, we’ll talk about four major …
Learning Difficulties
Learning disability is a general term that describes specific kinds of learning problems. A learning disability can cause a …
Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a debilitating disease, which affects the central nervous system. The nerve fibres, which make up our …
Muscular Dystrophy
Muscular dystrophy is the name given to a group of neuromuscular disorders that cause progressive and irreversible weakness and …
Prader-Willi Syndrome
Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is a lifelong condition. A great deal of research is being done, but to date there is no cure. No …
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic disease, mainly characterized by inflammation (pain, heat and swelling) of the lining, or …
Small Person Statue
Dwarfism is a term applied broadly to a number of conditions resulting in unusually short stature. While dwarfism is sometimes …
Spina Bifida
Spina Bifida means cleft spine, which is an incomplete closure in the spinal column. In general, the three types of spina bifida …
Tourettes Syndrome
Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a neurological disorder, which most often begins between the ages of 2 and 21, and lasts throughout …
Vision Impairment
The terms partially sighted, low vision, legally blind, and totally blind are used in the educational context to describe …