Introduction In this assignment, I aim to provide the reader with an overview of two prominent models of disability: the medical model and the social model. More specifically, I intend to outline the differences between these models, especially their theory and practice. Firstly, I will note the definition of what a model of disability is and point to its relevance in disability studies. I will also briefly examine the origins of both the medical and social models, but mainly outlining the contributions of their respective theoretical content and influence in society. Overall, the main aim of the assignment is to be achieved by providing a general outline of the social and medical disability models, which can be used to highlight the differences in the theoretical basis and practice methods. This will serve the reader with an overview of both disability models, which acknowledges the differences to how disability can be defined and approached in society. Outlining the differences of the medical and social models of disability, giving detail of their respective theory and practice Impairment, disability and the use of models of disability A clear definition of the term disability, it can be widely presumed, has never been universally agreed upon by any lay or in-depth study. This can be due to disability pertaining to different viewpoints; ultimately, the person who experiences the impairment and the person who does not. Another factor can be the norms found in various world cultures (Thomas, 2002). There is also conflicting discussion on the contextual nature of impairment, which is vital to denoting disability. Usually when signifying dysfunction of a bodily organ or appendage, examples of impairment woul... ... middle of paper ... ...dine, M. & Dukelow, F. 2009. Irish Social Policy: A Critical Introduction. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan Hammell, K. 2006. Perspectives on disability & rehabilitation: Contesting Assumptions; Challenging Practice. Philidelphia: Churchill Livingstone McClaren, N. 1998. ‘A Critical Review of the Biopsychosocial Model’, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, Vol 32, No. 1: pp. 86 - 92 Oliver, M. 1990. The Politics of Disablement. London: The MacMillan Press Ltd Oliver, M. 1996. Understanding Disability: From Theory to Practice. Hampshire: Palgrave Royal Association for Disability Rights (RADAR). 2010. Accessed from http://www.radar.org.uk/radarwebsite on the 6th November 2010 Thomas, C. (2002). ‘Disability Theory: Key ideas, Issues and Thinkers’, In: Barnes, C., Barton, L. & Oliver, M. Disability Studies Today. Cambridge: Polity Press. pp: 38 - 57
Gender has been broadly used within the humanities and social sciences as both a means to categories dissimilarities, and as a logical concept to give details differences. In both the humanities and social sciences. Disability studies has appeared partly as a result of challenges to give details gendered experience of disability and partly as a challenge to contemporary feminist theory on gender which fails to take description of disability. Disabled people have frequently been standing for as without gender, as asexual creatures, as freaks of nature, hideous, the ‘Other’ to the social norm. In this way it may be taking for granted that for disabled people gender has little bearing. However, the image of disability may be make physically powerful by gender - for women a sense of intensified passivity and helplessness, for men a dishonesties masculinity make by put into effected dependence. Moreover these images have real consequences in terms of
Culture and disability takes at its starting points the assertion that disability is culturally created and stands as a reflection of a society’s meaning of the phenomenon it created. This includes the fact that disability is a cultural reality that is both time and place dependent: what disability means is different from one social group to another and different from one historical period to another. (p. 526)
Disability is a ‘complex issue’ (Alperstein, M., Atkins, S., Bately, K., Coetzee, D., Duncan, M., Ferguson, G., Geiger, M. Hewett, G., et al.., 2009: 239) which affects a large percentage of the world’s population. Due to it being complex, one can say that disability depends on one’s perspective (Alperstein et al., 2009: 239). In this essay, I will draw on Dylan Alcott’s disability and use his story to further explain the four models of disability being The Traditional Model, The Medical Model, The Social Model and The Integrated Model of Disability. Through this, I will reflect on my thoughts and feelings in response to Dylan’s story as well as to draw on this task and my new found knowledge of disability in aiding me to become
Quite interestingly, disability as a justification for inequality is a customary, satisfactory, valid and acceptable ground for differences in treatment that people generally recognize even ...
Clare provides different paradigms of disability in order to demonstrate the wide variety of views concerning disabilities. He states that the paradigms of disability "all turn disability into problems faced by individual people, locate those problems in our bodies, and define those bodies as wrong," (Clare, 2001, p. 360). The first paradigm model Clare explains is the medical model which defines disability as a disease or a condition that is treatable. Next, he explains that the charity model defines disability as a tragedy and the supercrip model defines disability as a tough challenge that individuals overcome; the supercrip model makes individuals with disabilities out to be superheroes. Lastly, Clare explains that the moral model defines disability as a weakness. In order to demonstrate the paradigms and how they overlap, Clare cleverly uses an array of popular examples. One significant example is Jerry Lewis' telethon. During this time, Jerry Lewis attempts to raise money in order to find a cure for a condition. Overall, his Labor Day telethon raises money to end a disability by finding a cure for the broken bodies. This telethon employs the medical model because it demonstrates disability as a condition that needs to be treated. In addition, the telethon employs the charity model because it shows disability as a misfortune. All four disability paradigms are known as the social model because they are the ideas that society has about certain bodies. When society creates these ideas about disabilities, they create unnatural
‘“Now it’s my turn to make it better for generations that come after, which is why I’ve become, involved in disabilities issues”’ (Open University, 2016a).
"Disability the facts." New Internationalist Nov. 2013: 20+. Advanced Placement Government and Social Studies Collection. Web. 27 May 2014.
Shakespeare, T. (1993) Disabled people's self-organisation: a new social movement?, Disability, Handicap & Society, 8, pp. 249-264 .
Routledge: New York : New York, 2001. Shakespeare, T (2013) “The Social Model of Disability” in The Disability Studies Reader Ed Davis, L D. Routledge: New York.
Because of the ambiguity of the definition, there is a requirement to have the social model to help to provide the answers. As the social model illustrates how the social institutions, labels, and stereotypes impact the perceived abilities of a disabled person, it is shown that the definitions of what is “normal”, “good”, and “functional” all come from the current society in which the person lives. Additionally, as culture and these definitions change with time and new ideologies and technological advances, what defines a disabled person will also change with time. This is also true across cultures as there may be different requirements to be considered “functional” or in good health in other cultures. For instance, a man unable to walk may not be as hindered in his freedom of movement if he is only required to stay in a small local area, such as a village, in comparison to a large city. However, it is also important to point out that the social model requires the medical model as well because the social model fails to focus on the individual at a more micro level. A person may see others in a similar circumstance and react in a different
The World Health Organisation, WHO, (1980) defines disability in the medical model as a physical or mental impairment that restricts participation in an activity that a ‘normal’ human being would partake, due to a lack of ability to perform the task . Michigan Disability Rights Coalition (n.d.) states that the medical model emphasizes that there is a problem regarding the abilities of the individual. They argue that the condition of the disabled persons is solely ‘medical’ and as a result the focus is to cure and provide treatment to disabled people (Michigan Disability Rights Coalition, 2014). In the medical model, issues of disability are dealt with according to defined government structures and policies and are seen as a separate issue from ordinary communal concerns (Emmet, 2005: 69). According to Enabling Teachers and Trainers to Improve the Accessibility of Adult Education (2008) people with disabilities largely disa...
The Medical Model The Medical Model is one of the approaches used to understand people with disabilities, and is ‘concerned with the origin, degree, type of loss and the onset’ of a certain disability
Disability: Any person who has a mental or physical deterioration that initially limits one or more major everyday life activities. Millions of people all over the world, are faced with discrimination, the con of being unprotected by the law, and are not able to participate in the human rights everyone is meant to have. For hundreds of years, humans with disabilities are constantly referred to as different, retarded, or weird. They have been stripped of their basic human rights; born free and are equal in dignity and rights, have the right to life, shall not be a victim of torture or cruelty, right to own property, free in opinion and expression, freedom of taking part in government, right in general education, and right of employment opportunities. Once the 20th century
French, S. & Swain, J. 2008. Understanding Disability: A Guide for Health Professionals. Philadelphia: Churchilll Livingstone Elsevier: 4
...eglected social issues in recent history (Barlow). People with disabilities often face societal barriers and disability evokes negative perceptions and discrimination in society. As a result of the stigma associated with disability, persons with disabilities are generally excluded from education, employment, and community life which deprives them of opportunities essential to their social development, health and well-being (Stefan). It is such barriers and discrimination that actually set people apart from society, in many cases making them a burden to the community. The ideas and concepts of equality and full participation for persons with disabilities have been developed very far on paper, but not in reality (Wallace). The government can make numerous laws against discrimination, but this does not change the way that people with disabilities are judged in society.