What is disability?
Disabled People and The Social Model of Disability
Medical model.[d]It is important to have an understanding of the meaning of the word disability and who disabled people are. It can be confusing when people use different definitions of the word disability. Also the British Council of Disabled People has always followed the Social Model of Disability because other models of disability, which oppress disabled people, are all individual models. For example, the medical model, which is the best-known model, looks at only the impairment. Other models include the administrative model, which looks at disability and doing an assessment process and the charity model looks at disability as a personal tragedy.
Who are Disabled People
Group of disabled people.[d]Disabled people are those people with impairments who are disabled by society.
What is Disability
Disability is a disadvantage or restriction on doing things that is the fault of society and the way it is run. The world takes no account of people who have impairments and leaves them out and stops them from doing things other people do. Disability is discrimination very much like racism and sexism.
What is Impairment
Blind person with guide dog.[d]Impairment is when a person has an injury or a disease for a long time that makes them different to other people. It can affect the brain or the body it can also cause pain, make the person feel tired, affect the way the person talks or they may not remember things very well. Impairment does not cause disability and impairment does not make disability the right thing to do.
The Social Model of Disability
Discriminated wheelchair user.[d]- The Social Model was developed by disabled people to help them describe and take action against discrimination.
- The model does not blame the disabled person for the problems they have.
- Disabled people, by using the social model can find areas in the world that need changing and find out about bad attitudes towards disabled people, why some people will not talk to disabled people and why disabled people cannot get into some buildings.
- The Social Model allows disabled people to get together to campaign for better things, like people being considerate towards disabled people, and more access to buildings no matter what the disabled person's impairment is.
- The Social Model helps disabled people to talk about themselves and to talk about human rights and equality.
- Disabled people can talk about what they can do to make people more equal rather than telling everybody what disabled people cannot do.