Hi, my name is carerof!

carerof

Hi have just found this forum so thought I would join up and see if anyone can answer my question.  I have spinal stenosis with neurological claudication. Is this classed as a disability?

poppy123456

You’re disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities.

Alex_Scope

Hello there @carerof and thanks for your query, understanding what 'disabled' means and deciding whether or not to identify as disabled is something a lot of people find difficult, so you're not the first to ask a question like this. 

There's no official register or classification system for all disabilities per se, apart from if you register as sight impaired with your local authority.

I can see Poppy has provided the definition of 'disability' as it comes under the Equality Act 2010. Do you feel like your spinal stenosis has a big impact on your daily life? Does it take you longer to do something than someone without spinal stenosis, or do certain tasks cause a lot of pain for you? 

Answering these questions can give you an idea of the overall impact of your impairment, and if it's likely to last 12 months or more, then it's 'long-term'. Does that make sense?

If it's helpful, Scope has a page on talking about disability, which you might like to read