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The Medical And Social Models Of Disability

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What do you understand by the medical and social models of disability? Illustrate your answer with examples from your media portfolio.

The social and medical model are separate elements which have a big impact on people’s life. Disability as a whole influences society because we start from a young age learning, which will effect the kind of person we are and the kind of person we become. The word ‘model’ helps define the disability and understand the concepts in which it is perceived by individuals and groups in society. This essay will be focussing on the medical and social model of disability and including references and ideas used from the previous media portfolios. The barriers in which people my face on a day to day basis, how these can be prevented and how they are portrayed in the society. This essay will also include the differences between the two models and factors that result in the ‘oppression and discrimination that disabled people experience’ (Lang, 2007, p2). Medical and social models are used to conceptualize disability, understanding both of the models is an underlying problem why society has a big impact on the way people view disability.

The social model and medical model was developed in 1970’s by activists in the Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation (UPIAS). However, it was influenced by disabled academics themselves via the work of Colin Barnes (1991), Vic Finkelstein (1980, 1981) and Mike Oliver (1990, 1996). According to Hasler,

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