Handicap

Handicap, physical or mental disability, congenital or acquired, that inhibits a person from participating in normal life. In recent years technology and changes in attitudes have greatly improved the lives of the disabled. Sophisticated rehabilitation techniques and other tools, often using computers, have allowed a wide range of vocational and recreational activity. The U.S. Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires federally funded businesses to provide equal treatment—particularly, equal employment opportunity and equal access—to the handicapped. The 1975 Handicapped Children Act requires states to provide free education for those with special needs.