Published on 12, July, 2020
In England, under English Law (Mental Health Capacity Act, Vunerable Adults Act, Disability Discrimination Act, Equalities Act, Autism Act, etc), are adults with an ASD considered to be disabled, mentally disabled, vulnerable adults, or similar?
And if so, what are the legal rights of such ASD suffers, what are they entitled to that differ from a non-ASD person, so on and so forth, etc?
(I have Asperger Syndrome and suffer badly from depression, anxiety, paranoia, fear for the future, difficulty coping with change, etc. So I am wondering whether I am considered as having a disablity, a mental disability, and/or considered a vulnerable adult.)
Section 6 (1) of the Equality Act says that a person has a disability if they have a ‘physical or mental impairment’ and ‘the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect’ on the person’s ‘ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities’.
So if you can show that you have a physical or mental impairment, and that this has an adverse effect on day to day activities, and that the effects are substantial and long term then under the Equality Act 2010 you would be described as having a disability.
As regards legal rights and entitlements, public bodies have a duty to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ and not treat people ‘less favourably’. There are also definitions of ‘unlawful discrimination’. I suggest you look on the Equality and Human Rights Commission's website www.equalityhumanrights.com and perhaps call their helpline for more detailed information.
Hope this helps.
Jenniferwave