The Medical Model : Where Disability Is Viewed As An Impairment

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.

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 medical model is presented as viewing disability as a problem of the person, directly caused by disease, trauma, or other health condition which therefore requires sustained medical care provided in the form of individual treatment by professionals. In the medical model, management of the disability is aimed at a "cure," or the individual's adjustment and behavioral change that would lead to an "almost-cure" or effective cure.” (Langtree, 2012)

Douglas C. Baynton argues in his article, “Disability and the Justification of Inequality in American History”, that the concept of disability is culturally constructed and has been paid little to no attention to throughout history. He also argues that the term disability plays an important role in justifying discriminations against minority groups, based on gender, race, and ethnicity. He states that “Disability has functioned historically to justify inequality for disabled people themselves, but it has also done so for women and minority groups. That is, not only has it been considered justifiable to treat disabled people unequally, but the concept of disability has been used to justify discrimination against other groups by attributing disability to them.” (Baynton 94) He used women’s suffrage, African American freedom, and immigration restriction as examples to show how disability played an essential role in illustrating how minorities who were labeled as disabled were treated with discrimination. As they were labeled with disability, discrimination against them became justifiable, which ultimately proves that discrimination against disabled was thought as justifiable and were looked over.

Author of disability Nancy Mairs who’s a feminist and a cripple, has accomplished a lot in writing and teaching. Her remarkable personality shows in many of her essays especially in Disability which was first published in 1987 in the New York Times. In this essay, Nancy Mairs shows how disabled people are constantly excluded, especially from the media. By giving out facts and including her personal experiences, Mairs aims for making some changes regarding the relationship between the media and people with disabilities. Mairs thesis is shown implicitly in the first

1. Outline the history and development of the medical, social and psycho-social models of disability

Author of disability Nancy Mairs who’s a feminist and a cripple, has accomplished a lot in writing and teaching. Her remarkable personality shows in many of her essays especially in Disability which was first published in 1987 in the New York Times. In this essay, Nancy Mairs shows how disabled people are constantly excluded, especially from the media. By giving out facts and including her personal experiences, Mairs aims for making some changes regarding the relationship between the media and people with disabilities. Mairs thesis is shown implicitly in the first and last

While there is some slow improvement in the U.S. towards upholding disabled rights with improved consideration of capacity to consent and best interests, the stigma around the disabled continues, especially when it comes to reproduction and parenting, and media representations of this population perpetuate stereotypes about alleged unfitness to parent and function in society. Feminist conversations around rights of the disabled and ethical medical and legal treatment may be an important piece missing from mainstream discussions around reproductive rights. It is crucial for the well-being of disabled individuals to further increase the awareness of physicians, support service workers and caretakers, and the general public when it comes to these issues and the practice of using the least restrictive options when dealing with sexual and reproductive needs of women with

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.

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).

This paper will speak of, women with spinal cord injury (SCI) and the changes in their sexual function in both physical and emotional. For women with spinal cord injury it is common to be unsure as to whether or not they can give or receive sexual pleasure. Many of these woman experience a loss of self-satisfaction, confidence and self-worth. As time passes, women who experience spinal cord injury begin to express great appreciation for sexuality. This paper will explain the opportunities for sexual exploration among disabled women were it can be very limited. I will cover its impact on self-esteem, which in turn affects sexuality by making the tendency of a woman with a disability of some kind feel unattractive, or even less worthy of sexual

provides learning opportunities. It is also a registered charity and has lots of donors including disabled individuals. The article is about a combination of sexuality and disability. The author has also used her sister who has an intellectual disability for reference the sister would call and ask questions like "what does it mean if a guy asks for permission to kiss you". The author also emphasizes to her sister the importance of consent and what it means so she enjoys her sexual experiences at the same time have a healthy sexual life. The author also asks the sister about her wants, needs and desires. The article also explains how the odds are against women especially those with disabilities. They are four times more likely to experience sexual assault, it could be from caregivers, stripped searches, forced abortions, sterilization etc. The article also points out that Canada has a troubling history when it comes to disability and Sex.

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).

Speaking about sexual practices with others can be an uncomfortable situation. If an individual has a disability, this conversation can be even more challenging. In fact, most of the population believe that those who have a disability not only should not have sex; that they simply are unable. This belief is false. It is crucial for the general population to understand that those with disabilities are just as capable of engaging in intimate acts with their loved ones as those who were born without constraints engage. While it is important to recognize that both mental and physical disabilities carry a stigma, for the sake of this paper I will be focusing on those who have a mental impairment. I believe this to be of utmost importance, as society seems to stigmatize those with intellectual disabilities even more than those with physical constraints. In this text, I will prove that those with mental disabilities are just as capable of engaging in erotic acts as any other person, despite the additional obstacles in their way. To do this, I will use highlights from the 2012 film The Sessions, produced and directed by Ben Lewin, to display the additional disgrace bestowed on those with mental handicaps. Additionally, I will draw on Michael L. Perlin and Alison J. Lynch’s article “All His Sexless Patients: Persons with Mental Disabilities and the Competence to Have Sex” to prove how capable individuals with intellectual problems are.

Under the Medical Model, disabled people are defined by their illness or medical condition. The Medical Model regards disability as an individual problem.  It promotes the view of a disabled person as dependent and needing to be cured or cared for, and justifies the way in which disabled people have been systematically excluded from society.  The disabled person is the problem, not society.  Control resides firmly with professionals; choices for the individual are limited to the options provided and approved by the 'helping' expert.