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There are three main types of impairment: permanent, temporary and situational.
We often think about how permanent impairments can impact on someone's use of a product or service
but we very rarely think about how a 'temporary impairment' could cause problems.
'Temporary impairments' last up to around 12 months and can include a wide range of issues.
Although it may seem tricky to consider 'temporary impairments' when thinking about Accessibility,
we often cover these requirements simply by designing for permanent impairments.
Here are some examples of 'temporary impairment': someone with a broken arm; their injury may be short term,
but they'll still need to change how they interact with your product or service during that period.
The same is true of someone who has just had laser eye surgery, making their vision 'temporarily impaired'.
Or someone with a nasty head cold with impaired hearing.
It'll also be true for someone who is pregnant, and whilst we might shy away from thinking of this as an impairment,
it's important to think about the impact of being pregnant on things like mobility.
'Temporary impairments' are really wide ranging and can be more impactful to a person’s life in the short term,
as they have to quickly adjust to a change, and then adjust back again.
Now that you've found out about 'temporary impairment', check out the videos on 'permanent' and 'situational impairments', too.
To find out more, visit barclayscorporate.com/accessibility.