The Medical Model Of Disability

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.

Disability is a definition of a physical or mental condition which impacts on a person’s movements, activities and senses. People with disabilities were informed of bias and disadvantages compared to an ordinary person. There are many biases and prejudices contributed to the discrimination of individuals with a disability. Partly because of social connotations the disabled people are useless, cannot work. In fact, these extraordinary people always bring and do incredible things. They not only overcome their grim fate, but also bring good things to life, especially those who are perfectly considering better than an ordinary person, they are not aware of the capacity of individuals disabilities with them characteristics such as loyalty, dedication, and hard work.

The Medical Model regards disability as an individual problem. It promotes a traditional view of disability, that it is something to be ‘cured’, even though many conditions have no cure. The problem is seen as the disabled person and their impairment, not society, and the solution is seen as adapting the disabled person to fit the non-disabled world, often through medical intervention. Control resides firmly with professionals; choices for the individual are limited to the options provided and approved by the 'helping' expert.

“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.

People with disabilities are part of the society; Are present in any area of ​​human endeavor. The worst maltreatment suffered by individuals with disabilities is that they are not seen, with exceptions, like any other person. Disability is not a characteristic of the subject, but the result of their individuality in relation to the demands that the environment poses. The type and degree of disability that the person suffers from prevents them from using their resources autonomously, being forced to look for other alternatives to meet his essential needs. People with disabilities, in fact, in everyday life, are not like other people: they have limitations and problems that do not affect ordinary people in the same way. The aspect that matters is that these people, with their limitations, have the right as all to the maximum development of all their potentialities.

The medical model of disability views disabilities as a problem that belongs to the disabled person. It is not seen as a problem that needs the concern of anyone else apart from the disabled individual affected, for example if a wheelchair user is unable to get into a building because there are steps then, the wheelchair is seen as the problem not the steps, according to the medical model.

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).

Looking back in the past, there have been many features, and true definitions of the word disability. In the 1970s a group called the Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation defined disability as the disadvantage or restriction of activity cased by social organizations. U.S disability activists made efforts during the 1970s to form different alliances with the disability community, that protested for the inclusion of disability discrimination under the Rehabilitation act. Thereafter there was a medial model at looking at disability, that views disability as an individual shortfall. In

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

A disability is a condition of impairment--a physical or mental condition--that limits a person’s activities or functioning. Handicap is used when legally specifying life processes or social activities that adversely affect a person’s functioning. A handicap is much more limiting than a disability.

Disability in a socio-cultural context can be defined as "a barrier to participation of people with impairments or chronic illnesses arising from an interaction of the impairment or illness with discriminatory attitudes, cultures, policies or institutional practices" (Booth, 2000). The traditional view of disability often focuses on the individual, highlighting incapacities or failings, a defect, or impairment. This focus creates obstacles to participation on equal terms since an individual who seems to lack certain capacities may not be able to attain autonomy.

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).

In this report, the Medical and Social Models of disability are explained, the relevance of both and their importance in society. My own personal views on both are contained throughout and within the conclusion, based on research, referenced and listed in the bibliography.