The law defines disability as an impairment that "substantially limits one or more of the major life activities."

In defining disability, proponents of this model make two assertions concerning the view of disability as oppression:

States must also cover disabled people, but states would define disability.

It defines disability as a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to perform normal day-to-day activities.

This, along with the medical model, are the models most used by non-disabled people to define and explain disability.

This model looks to personal identity to define disability and empowers people to chart their own destiny in everyday life, with a particular focus on economic empowerment.

Premiums also tend to be higher for policies that define disability in broader terms, meaning the policy would pay benefits in a wider variety of circumstances.

States could define disability, but their definitions would be subject to approval by the Federal Secretary of Health and Human Services.

The Court did not define disability.

The AAIDD have defined intellectual disability to mean the same thing as mental retardation.