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The social model of disability is based on the premise that people are not disabled because of illness and impairment. Instead, they are disabled because of how society is constructed. This is opposed to the medical model that places the cause of disability upon the person's impairment. The onus is placed on the person with a disability to adapt to society instead of society adapting to them.
The medical model is closely associated with the welfare model that believes society should simply look after people with disabilities as opposed to empowering them to lead independent lives.
The Social Model of Disability is focused on
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Theme |
Examples of Barriers |
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Attitudinal Barriers |
People's attitudes, fears, prejudices result in unfair and discriminatory treatment |
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Environmental Barriers |
Steps, revolving doors and other physical barriers prevent access to buildings, transport etc |
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Information Barriers |
Lack of information in other formats, e.g. Braille, audio etc prevents people from accessing information about services, products etc |
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Communication Barriers |
Lack of signage, poor lighting, lack of language interpreters etc prevent disabled people from confidently participating in daily life |
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Institutional Barriers |
Discriminatory practices, policies and procedures, inflexible or unfair systems in organisations encourage inequality for disabled people |
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