Understanding the Concept of Cognitive Disability

This article provides a critical analysis of the current research terminology used to describe people with cognitive disability, intellectual impairment, neurodiversity, mental disorder, or psychological dysfunction. Medical diagnoses of the brain, nerves, mind, or psyche inform the use of these terms for describing behavior that is not deemed “normal” in humans. Cognitive disability is proposed as a more appropriate one than other similar terminologies after an analysis of diverse policy documents and academic publications.