Barriers

This refers to the environmental factors in a person’s surroundings that condition the way they are, act, or participate in it.

For the WHO, environmental factors consist of the physical, social, and attitudinal environment in which people live and carry out their lives. In other words, they could include physical aspects such as an inaccessible environment; communicational ones, including appropriate means, formats, and content; and attitudinal, for example, prejudice and negative ideas about disability.

It also encompasses the lack of relevant assistive technology or the lack of services, systems, and policies that encourage involvement in all areas of life (WHO, 2001, p. 222).

Barriers become a limitation both through their presence (for example, negative attitudes towards people with disabilities) and absence (for example, not providing the necessary service such as interpretation in sign language or content with easy read).