Handicaps Guides

    Here you will find the portal to guides specific to certain disabilities

    A few numbers to start

    0 %
    of people have a disability
    0 %
    disabilities are invisible

    Disability is a condition that affects us all directly or indirectly.

    In fact, 20% of the population has a disability.

    Surprising! 80% of disabilities are invisible. Often we don’t see them, but they can prove to be a daily challenge.

    Concretely, what is a handicap?

    The 2005 law defines disability as
    « Constitutes a handicap, within the meaning of this law, any limitation of activity or restriction of participation in life in society suffered in his environment by a person due to a substantial, lasting or definitive alteration of one or more functions physical, sensory, mental, cognitive or psychic, of a multiple handicap or of a disabling health disorder. « 

    Disability, a multitude of conditions

    The handicap is much larger than you think. It groups together hundreds of conditions that can be grouped into 6 categories:

    Physical disability

    Partial or total impairment of motor skills

    Visual impairment

    Visually impaired and blind people

    Hearing impairment

    Deaf and hard of hearing people

    mental health, disorder, mental illness, phobia, Panic Attack, Psychiatric, anxiety

    Psychic handicap

    Mental, affective and emotional disorders

    DYS disorders

    Written, oral or intellectual learning disabilities

    Disabling diseases

    Respiratory, digestive, infectious diseases

    If we want to talk about disability, we must understand it in its plurality. Each condition is specific: it has its challenges and its strengths.

    Perception of disability

    Disability, even if it is invisible or light (in appearance), can be very hard to bear. The negative emotions or feelings linked to disability influence many choices in the personal and professional life of people with disabilities. They are not noticeable, but they are real, because it is often accepted that being disabled limits.

    A different condition frequently involves 2 emotions: laughter and pity. It is accepted that a disabled person has a more difficult life than others. She will find it difficult to develop professionally and personally compared to a non-disabled person.

    It is to overcome these perceptions that we believe it is important to act.

    The received ideas that we would like to overcome

    A person with a disability will generally be less competent than a person without a disability
    Just like any person, a person with a disability has their strengths and weaknesses. Disability forces a person with a disability to perform specific tasks. This handicap often allows the development of other skills which make it possible to « compensate ». Conditions will vary depending on the disability and the person. Some people with disabilities will be excellent, others will be less competent, as will people without a disability. Thus, it is key to understand the person as such and not to limit them to their disability.
    A person with a disability cannot have a great career
    There are many people with disabilities who have very long careers. The CEO of the multinational Cisco system is dyslexic, the founder of Virgin has ADHD, The CEO of Doctolib stammers, Nash who was elected Nobel Prize in Mathematics was schizophrenic, Johanna Lucht is deaf and an engineer for NASA. These few examples show that anything is possible and that disability does not define a career.
    Disability only concerns people with disabilities
    Disability does not only concern the person with a disability, it is a two-way relationship. There is the way in which the person with a disability considers himself, and the way in which the interlocutor (who does not have this handicap), considers him. If we have low self-esteem, it will show. If we have low esteem for the person we’re talking to, it will show
    The main challenge is the disability itself
    The real limiting factor is not disability. It’s the way we experience it. Disability poses real barriers. We have 2 choices, think that it is up to others to make the effort for us, or that it is up to us to redouble our efforts to get there. Obviously, this is the second position that must be chosen.
    Disability is difficult to manage in a company
    1. Each handicap requires adjustments which are often light. In addition, the arrangements are fully or partially covered by AGEFIPH
    2. The follow-up of people with disabilities is often light. It will consist of ensuring that they are well integrated into their team and treated fairly.
    3. There are of course exceptions which will require more support.

    Two key concepts for understanding disability

    The iceberg of disability

    As with many conditions, there are the visible and invisible aspects. In the case of disability, there are visible manifestations of disability. However, we do not see all the negative feelings, all the fatigue and other difficulties that disability can involve.

    Models of disability

    The medical model of disability considers disability solely through its medical diagnosis. He identifies disorders and diseases and considers the solution to be curative treatment, if there is one. This model focuses on disability in its constraining and medical dimension by omitting the social aspect
    The social model of disability considers that the barriers and constraints induced by disability are not only the consequences of a medically identified condition. They are also a consequence of environmental and social organization. Thus, laws, public and private institutions, social norms (explicit or implicit), biases, culture, etc., can amplify the difficulties linked to a disability.
    This social model is all the more true in the professional world, where work is often done with standardized working procedures and methods, the adaptation that the disability may require is sometimes not accepted, which can have many consequences. on the person and the company. The social model of disability also implies that with the necessary adjustments and overcoming prejudices around disability, disability can no longer be a barrier.