Research & Insights

How do you know if you have a disability?

You are considered to have a disability if you have a physical or mental impairment or medical condition that substantially limits a major life activity, or if you have a history or record of such an impairment or medical condition.

Disabilities include, but are not limited to:

• Autism
• Autoimmune disorder, for example, lupus, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, or HIV/AIDS
• Blind or low vision
• Cancer
• Cardiovascular or heart disease
• Celiac disease
• Cerebral palsy
• Deaf or hard of hearing
• Depression or anxiety
• Diabetes
• Epilepsy
• Gastrointestinal disorders, for example, Crohn’s Disease, or irritable bowel syndrome
• Intellectual disability
• Missing limbs or partially missing limbs
• Nervous system condition for example, migraine headaches, Parkinson’s disease, or Multiple sclerosis (MS)
• Psychiatric condition, for example, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD, or major depression

A “disabled veteran” is one of the following: a veteran of the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service who is entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or a person who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

A “recently separated veteran” means any veteran during the three-year period beginning on the date of such veteran’s discharge or release from active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval, or air service.

An “active duty wartime or campaign badge veteran” means a veteran who served on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service during a war, or in a campaign or expedition for which a campaign badge has been authorized under the laws administered by the Department of Defense.

An “Armed forces service medal veteran” means a veteran who, while serving on active duty in the U.S. military, ground, naval or air service, participated in a United States military operation for which an Armed Forces service medal was awarded pursuant to Executive Order 12985.