3.3 Explain the Social and Medical Models of Disability and the Impact of Each on Practice.

There are two models that link with equality, diversity and inclusion, the first one is the social model of disability which views discrimination and prejudice as being embedded in today’s society, their attitude’s and their surrounding environment. The social model focuses on who the adult is as person not what their disability or diagnosis is, the focus is on how to improve and empower the individual’s life and lead a more independent life as possible. The second model is the medical model of disability which views adults has having an impairment or lacking in some way, this model focuses on impairments that the adult has and

The amount of people who live with disabilities is a controversial number. Depending on what law and diagnostic tools used, a person may have a visible disability, or one that may lie beneath the surface of his or her appearance. Some people believe that the term “disability” is merely a label use to hold back, or prescribe helplessness. Meanwhile, individuals who have been properly diagnosed with disabilities struggle to maintain respect and acceptance every day. In plain language, there is a lot of misunderstanding between people with disabilities and those without. It is firstly important to get everyone on the same page regarding the definition of disability.

There are two models that link with equality, diversity and inclusion, the first one is the social model of disability which views discrimination and prejudice as being embedded in today’s society, their attitude’s and their surrounding environment. The social model focuses on who the adult is as person not what their disability or diagnosis is, the focus is on how to improve and empower the individual’s life and lead a more independent life as possible. The second model is the medical model of disability which views adults has having an impairment or lacking in some

“The social model of disability sees the issue of "disability" as a socially created problem and a matter of the full integration of individuals into society. In this model, disability is not the problem of the individual, but rather a complex collection of conditions, many of which are created by the social environment. Hence, the management of the problem requires social action and is the collective responsibility of society at large to make the environmental modifications necessary for the full

The medical model defines a disability as something that is physically ‘wrong’ with a person’s body. This could be an illness or acquired damage to the body in an accident for example. The medical model views the human body as something which can be fixed or repaired if there is a problem with it.

The Social Model of disability came about through the disability movement and other organisation campaigning for equal rights, opportunities and choices for disabled people. The social model of disability recognises that any problem of disability are created by society and its institution and that The Discrimination Acts are tools to help to improve the response of society to disability, also a wheel chair user is not hampered by their disability but by lack of adequate access to buildings. The social model may impact upon our practise as we would provide inclusive environments as a starting point for all children. The Scope website stated ‘The social model of disability says that disability is caused by the way

The social model suggests that it is the steps that are the issue not the wheelchair, as it is the steps which are disabling the person access, which is seen as a barrier. This model suggests that it is society disabling people through designing everything to meet the needs of the majority of people, who are not disabled. The social model believe that there is a great deal that society can do to reduce and ultimately remove, some of the barriers. This task is the responsibility of society rather then the person, as far as is reasonably practical – which by if it is a big organisation and it is financially possible and financially beneficial, then it would make sense to adapt and make provisions for disabled people to have access for example, wider doors,

This essay highlights and discusses models of disability reflected in two separate articles (Appendices A and B). I will identify the models of disability they represent. Both have been recently featured in the Guardian newspaper and are stories on disabled people.

The development of different models of disability proposed diverse, and often opposite views on the relationships between the disabled people and the rest of the society (White et al., 2010). The ideas and models developed from the dependence model, that existed for a long time, to independent living model and transformation of the idea of caring for disabled (Cameron, 2014, p.21), to the idea of interdependence that, to some extent, is opposite to independence model (White et al., 2010).

In a debate between the social construction of disability and the medical model, I would side with social construction of disability. Prior to reading Chapter 3 of Rethinking Disability, I would have sided with the medical model since that was the only approach I was made aware of. In all of my studies, this is the method that I was shown. I was taught that if a student presents symptoms of having a disability, the teacher would include the parents and the student to undergo all of the steps such as, the examination, diagnosis, prescription, and follow up. We are so used to this process that we do not look beyond it to analyze what this really means. As stated in the chapter, after these students are diagnosed with all these labels, society

Society often focuses on what a person lacks in terms of disability and focuses on condition or illness or a person’s lack of ability. Medical model of disability which views adults has having an impairment or lacking in some way

The education model is used the school setting. The main focus is to allow the student who is disabled to participate in school and adapt to the school environment through special education. Each student’s educational need is met through individual therapy and treatment. It is free for the student with no obligation of pay from the family.

How does this social construction of disabilities impact institutional policies, and societal and individual behaviors regarding disabilities? In other words, how have people with disabilities been marginalized in the past and present at those three levels? Please be specific and provide examples to support your answers.

The medical model is a view of the disability is seen as the child or young person’s fault. The child or young person would be giving support, this can have negative views/ attitudes. It can make people think that they are really needy and need to fit in. Also it’s a view of disability which is something to be cured even though many condition have no cure. If you have a child has a disability in the setting then the practitioners must adapt any activity or the room for the child to meet their development. It is important that practitioners do not label children by the terms they use. Even if the child has a difficulties or health conditions the practitioner shouldn’t define who someone is. For example, rather than saying “Genie is an epileptic”,

The dominant model of disability for the majority of the 20th century was the medical model. The medical model’s emphasis is on impairment; this is the cause of the disadvantage disabled individuals face and therefore the site of interventions (Crow, 1996). It is based in the biomedical and clinical. It views disability as a personal tragedy, an idea which is often implicit in work around disability based on the medical model. (Oliver, 1990).