Accommodation and Compliance Series: Employees with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ASD and the Americans with Disabilities Act

Is ASD a disability under the ADA?

The ADA does not contain a list of medical conditions that constitute disabilities. Instead, the ADA has a general definition of disability that each person must meet on a case by case basis (EEOC Regulations . . . , 2011). A person has a disability if he/she has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having an impairment (EEOC Regulations . . . , 2011).

However, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the individualized assessment of virtually all people with ASD will result in a determination of disability under the ADA; given its inherent nature, ASD will almost always be found to substantially limit the major life activity of brain function (EEOC Regulations . . . , 2011).

For more information about how to determine whether a person has a disability under the ADA, visit http://AskJAN.org/corner/vol05iss04.htm.