Disability is a major issue faced by our society. An attempt to describe the term disability can be very challenging. Views of disability can differ immensely from an ‘able-bodied’ persons in comparison to the view of ‘disabled’ individual.

There is no legal definition of disability as described in the social model of disability, the closest is the notion of discrimination as “less favourable treatment” as described in the DDA (Disability Discrimination act, 1995). According to the DDA a disability depends on the inability to carry out routine daily tasks.

World Health Organisation categorised disability into 3 groups; Impairment (e.g. loss of a body part), Disability (e.g. cannot run) and Handicap (e.g. cannot play football). They believe that impairment is different to disability.

One proposed definition of disability from the perspective of impairment could be that, “Disabled people” are those with “impairments” who are disabled by the society. This includes people with visual and physical impairments, deaf people, people who are hard of hea

Michael Oliver (1996) argues that the social model is not an attempt to deal with the personal restrictions of impairment but the social barriers of disability. He continues that other people have also criticised the model for its assumed denial of ‘the pain of impairment’, both physical and psychological.

There is a substantial lack of disabled people participating at all levels, and disabled people are excluded from most of the main dominant forms of cultural dissemination.

The ability of Social Model in undermining these barriers has had a tremendous effect. This is mainly due to the reason that social model is first and foremost a focus on the environmental and social barriers. Furthermore it is a concerted approach to direct all attention to those aspects of disabled people’s lives, which can and arguably should be changed. It is not a denial of the importance of impairment, appropriate medical attention or the discussion of these experiences. (Oliver, Barnes, 1998)

One of the major criticisms that the disabled people have made of the social model is its detachment with having to deal with of impairment and its experiences. For example some individuals with visual impairment can face social restrictions, which cannot be resolved with the social model.

The justification for benefits and allowances is the medical model, while for rights it is the social model. In simple terms the medical view of disability explains the disadvantages experienced by disabled people as a direct consequences of their own physical and functional limitations, whereas the social model emphasises the role of society excluding and disabling individuals. (Deborah marks 1999)

Some topics in this essay:
Michael Oliver, Daily Telegraph, Health Organisation, Lunt Thorton, Gary Zarb, Oliver Barnes, Spastics Society, Social Model, Union Shop, Disability Discrimination, disabled people, social model, social model disability, model disability, medical model, michael oliver, definition disability, disabled individual, dda disability, people impairments, wheelchair user, people impairments ‘dis-abled’, dda disability discrimination, disability discrimination act, michael oliver 1996,