In looking to learn more about just how “disability” is defined, I ran across several examples from various private and public institutions. While there is not much I am writing in the way of blog content this week, I found the definition of disability from The Center for an Accessible Society to be the most interesting and quite different from the others I researched. I wanted to share it and get your opinion. The Center's website link is included at the bottom of the page, along with some of the other links regarding “disability” definition.
Here is The Center for an Accessible Society’s definition of disability:
The Definition of Disability
DISABILITY POLICY SCHOLARS DESCRIBE four different historical and social models of disability:
A moral model of disability which regards disability as the result of sin;
A medical model of disability which regards disability as a defect or sickness which must be cured through medical intervention;
A rehabilitation model, an offshoot of the medical model, which regards the disability as a deficiency that must be fixed by a rehabilitation professional or other helping professional; and
The disability model, under which "the problem is defined as a dominating attitude by professionals and others, inadequate support services when compared with society generally, as well as attitudinal, architectural, sensory, cognitive, and economic barriers, and the strong tendency for people to generalize about all persons with disabilities overlooking the large variations within the disability community."
What are your thoughts about this definition?
Links to other websites that discuss how the term “disability” can be defined:
The Center for an Accessible Society
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Social Security Advisory Board – Document entitled “The Definition of Disability” dated October 2003
Social Security Administration
I was shocked when I read about the moral mode of disability definition because that is a harsh way to think about disabilities as a result of sin, if there are people in the world who think that way. And I want to be honest. When I was younger, I used to think to myself 'what did they do'. But as I became more educated I had to quickly change my outlook. And that's what happen to others as well, they just need to be educated.
ReplyDeleteI was reading the chart that you put on your blog about disabilities and I just don't like it honestly. I wish people/society would stop being harsh to PWD (people with disabilities as Carol puts it in her blog). One day we're all going to have to contact social services to apply for Long-term disability or any other service when we get older. And for there not to be any strong economic support for PWD, that is a problem. I really don't even know what to say about people who hold office positions that are able to make changes, but they are just worried about their own checks clearing in their bank accounts.
I was shocked as well! When I read the "Moral" model, I too thought..."WHAT?!" The "Moral" model is historically the oldest and is less prevalent today. This particular idea is what people used to think (out of pure ignorance - just not knowing). Because this website focuses on public attention to disability and independent living issues and is funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, it pulls information from various disability advocate resources. These models are from the World Institute on Disability, and the "Disability" model is the model that has taken hold as the disability rights and independent living movements have gained strength.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, I don't like the chart either. Unfortunately, I believe that this can often times be the cycle. It is terrible and needs to change. As we discussed in class, it is more probable than not that at some point in time we will all be living with a disability.
The cycle of disability at the top puts into perspective that poverty and being disabled is a trap that people fall into, especially with how much medical bills cost these days!! Its astonishing to me how much you have to pay for a 5min session with a doctor. Like Carol mentioned in class she paid a lot to get what she needed to help her walk again. Its sad because the qualifications to receive government money are set to exclude the majority of people who really need the money, such as the temporarily disabled. Disability is an issue that needs to be treated as an actual issue within our government and given the attention needed so that we can figure out (as a nation) how to better help anyone who has some sort of disability whether it be life threatening or not. I also believe education about disabilities and how to treat people with disabilities should be integrated in to the school curriculum so that people do have the idea that disability is the result of a sin.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the disability model points to the fact that people with disabilities can do things, but they must do them differently. This may include that they must do certain tasks with the help of another person or with the help of mechanization. This difference is probably beyond many people to even consider and so they simply dismiss someone as incapable or try to group them into a narrow category. As it becomes more visible, however, more people will see how many people with disabilities are out there. Hopefully it will start to be looked at differently.
ReplyDeleteJulie, these different models that you posted are very enlightening. When I was reading each definition of disabilities I was imagining different era's in time. With the moral model, which I think is absurd, dates back to the biblical times when Jews believed that people with leprosy should be cast out of society because they were "unclean".
ReplyDeleteThe disability model appeared to be more a modern model that accepts disabilities and doe snot see them as a moral punishment. This definition brought to light that disabilities are not always visible.