Social Model Of Disability

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What is a disability? The Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation (UPIAS) was an early disability rights organisation in the United Kingdom. It established the principles that led to the development of the social model of disability (Finkelstein 2001; Barnes 2003; Barnes 2004, cited in Cameron 2010; Barnes & Halmstad 2009; Carson 2009) define: “Impairment: lacking part or all of a limb, organism or mechanism of the body. Disability: the disadvantage or restriction of activity caused by a contemporary social organisation which takes little or no account of people who have physical impairments and thus excludes them from the mainstream of social activities (UPIAS, 1976)”. The World Health Organization (WHO) suggested the following…show more content…
The most frequently mentioned models are the medical and the social models of disability (Carson 2009; DPA, Singapore 2015). The medical model is based on the premise that an individual has an impairment or functional limitation which prevent them from full participation in society, and is ultimately regarded as the cause of disability (Oliver 1990a; 1996, cited in Hemingway 2008; Barnes & Halmstad 2009; Carson 2009). Viewing disability as a medical problem fosters the belief that those with disabilities are in need of fixing or a cure. Framing disability in this way leads to individualised treatment of those with disabilities, rather than standardised policies, which can result in marginalisation and alienation (Barnes 2003; Barnes & Halmstad 2009; Carson 2009; DPA, Singapore…show more content…
There is recognition within the social model that society can do a great deal to reduce, and ultimately remove, some of these disabling barriers, and that this task is the responsibility of society, rather than the disabled people (Barnes 2003; Barnes & Halmstad 2009; Carson 2009; Oliver 2013; DPA, Singapore 2015). Social model inspired thinking has played a major role in the mobilisation of disability activism, policy development in the UK and many nations across the world (Barnes 2003; Barnes and Merces 2005, cited in Barnes and Halmstad 2009; Oliver 2013), and this model is a tool with which to gain an insight into the disabling tendencies of modern society in order to generate policies and practices to facilitate their eradication (Barnes 2003; Barnes & Halmstad 2009; Oliver 2013). The impact of social model thinking is to gives the disabled people the words to describe their inequality. It separates out disabling barriers from impairment so enables them to focus on what it is which denies their human and civil rights and what actions needs to be taken (Barnes 2003; Carson 2009; Morris, cited in Barnes & Halmstad

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