For middle-aged people, disability is defined in terms of ability to work or do housework. For children, disability is the inability to participate in mainstream education. An important difference between functioning loss and disability is the potential influence of the external environment. Although in practice it may sometimes be difficult to clearly separate the two concepts, functioning loss is defined as a functioning deficit in an individual; disability on the other hand is an inability to perform within the environment. Disability can be affected by conditions external to the person. For instance, moving to a house without stairs or a home with a walk-in shower might allow someone to.
