Equality and Human Rights Commission

This includes the ability to speak, hear or see and communication, either face-to-face, on the telephone or in writing.

Speech

When considering substantial adverse effects, the ability of a person to speak clearly at a normal pace and rhythm and to understand someone else speaking normally in their own language must be considered.

If you can’t give clear basic verbal instructions or ask questions to clarify instructions, or it takes you a lot longer to speak than someone without a speech impairment, then it is likely that this will be considered a substantial adverse effect.

However, if you have a minor speech impediment, stutter or lisp, or are unable to speak in front of an audience because of nervousness, it is unlikely this will be considered a substantial adverse effect. If you have difficulty talking in a language that is not your native language, it does not qualify as a substantial adverse effect.

Hearing

If you use a device such as a hearing aid, you should consider what your hearing is like without the device and how that would affect you, particularly where the level of background noise is within the range at which most people would be able to hear adequately.

If you have difficulty hearing someone talking at a level normal for everyday conversations or understanding a person speaking clearly on a voice telephone, it is likely that this will be considered a substantial adverse effect.

However, inability to hold a conversation in a very noisy place such as a factory floor or busy building site is unlikely to amount to a substantial adverse effect.

Eyesight

You need to think about what your vision is like while wearing any glasses or contact lenses which could be used to correct your sight. This is unusual for the DDA, because a ‘substantial adverse effect’ is always considered without aids and corrections apart from in relation to sight.

It is likely that a condition will be considered as having a substantial adverse effect on you if, even with sight corrected by glasses or contact lenses, you cannot pass the eyesight test on a standard driving test; have difficulty recognising by sight a known person across a moderately-sized room; are completely unable to distinguish any colours; have difficulty reading ordinary newsprint; or have difficulty walking safely without bumping into things.

If you can’t read very small print without a magnifying glass, recognise someone you know across a playing field or tell red from green, it is not reasonable to consider your condition as having a substantial adverse effect on you.