1.3 Models of disability

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Medical Model of Disability

The medical model of disability has traditionally assumed disabled people have limitations in participation because of their Special Educational Needs and/or disabilities. Therefore, the problem is located within disabled people (Marks, 1996; Bunbury, 2019).​

Disability in the medical model is defined as the “…result of impairment of body functions and structures, including the mind, and can be caused by disease, injury, or health conditions” (Forhan, 2009, in, Haegele & Samuel Hodge, 2016, p.195).​

“Impairment is central to the medical model”. The model focuses on medical diagnosis instead of societal barriers (Hepple, 2014, in, Bunbury, 2019). Hyde (2006, p.253) “…endorses policies that at best are likely to be ineffective in promoting social participation and at worst reinforce disadvantage and social exclusion”. ​

Critiques of the medical model include the persistent negative perceptions of disabled people and continued attitudes on disabled people that focus on perceived limitations of their SEND (Haegele & Samuel Hodge, 2016).

Image Source

Infographic adapted from changethestory.org

Social Model of Disability

This model explains disability ‘as a social construct through discrimination and oppression’, using a rights-based approach that ‘focuses on anti-discrimination law rather than on welfare programme’ (Degener, 2014, p.4-5). ​

Image Source

“Social Model of Disability 1” by MissLunaRose12 is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

The social model of disability has been linked to inclusive education for decades. Critiques of the model include that is has “…been consistently expressed as, or interpreted as, re-affirmations of personal tragedy, particularly in relation to impairment” (Swain and French, 2000, p.569). ​

The social model of disability is linked to the development of inclusion. It was influenced by the civil rights movement in America during the 1960’s and 1970’s. Instead of focusing on the person’s SEND the focus is on advocating for the removal of social barriers, which disable the individual (Bunbury, 2019).​

Disabled people in emphasising the importance of the social model argue that illness and disability are not the same. Most difficulties experienced by disabled people need changes to the environment (Oliver, 2021).​

Affirmation model of disability​

Other models of disability include the affirmative model that “builds on the liberatory imperative of the social model” and has emerged from literature by disabled people and within disability culture, including the Disability Arts Movement’ (Swain and French, 2000, p,569).​

This model focuses on disabled people’s social identities, individual and collective (Levitt, 2017; Swain and French, 2000).​

Cameron (2011, in Martin, 2012, p.18) stated that “the affirmative model demands a recognition of impairment as an ordinary rather than an extraordinary characteristic of human experience and for inclusion within ordinary life on that basis”. ​

It is seen as a non-tragic view of disability and impairment that is “…grounded in the benefits of lifestyle and life experiences of being impaired and disabled” (Swain and Franch, 2000, p.569).​

focus photo of woman in red and white polo shirt with black pants in ice wheelchair
Image Source

Photo by Audi Nissen on Unsplash

Activity

  1. Consider the models of disability in relation to inclusive practice in Ukraine. Which models of disability do you think are dominant in current practice? Do you think this is an area of improvement in Ukraine or that developments need to be made?​
  2. Consider what inclusion means to you and then research its meaning in relevant publications. Are all the definitions similar, are there commonalities found in most of the definitions, or is there quite a bit of variation? ​
  3. Do you believe inclusion is possible in practice?​
  4. What are the key principles of inclusion for you? For instance, is education for all important to you? Is education being for all-in-one setting important to you?​
  5. What are key principles of inclusion in literature on the international drive for inclusion and on practice in Ukraine?​