EEOC List Of commonly disabling impairments

EEOC provided the following list of “commonly disabling impairments as part of its Interpretive Guidance to the proposed regulations, which included: - Orthopedic, visual, speech, and hearing impairments; - Tuberculosis; - HIV infection;8 - AIDS; - Cerebral palsy; - Epilepsy; - Muscular dystrophy; - Multiple sclerosis; - Cancer;9 - Heart disease;10 and - Diabetes.11 This list and the Commission's discussion entitled ''Frequently Disabling Impairments'' in the proposed regulations were deleted from the final regulations issued by the EEOC. According to the Commission, this deletion was done in order to ''avoid confusion.''12 Apparently, the EEOC was concerned that the list could be misinterpreted as implying that an individual who has one or more of the listed impairments would automatically be considered an individual with a disability. In interpreting the definition of ''disability'' under the ADA, courts have found a wide variety of conditions and impairments as meeting the statutory requisites. For example, Temporal Mandibular Joint Syndrome (TMJ) has been recognized as a disabling condition substantially restricting a person's ability to perform such major life activities as working, eating and sleeping. Emotional conditions, such as anxiety and depression, also have been recognized as disabilities under the ADA.