What is the social model of disability? | Disability Awareness & Inclusion | iHASCO

Taken from our Disability Awareness & Inclusion Training course, this video explains the social model of disability.

In this model, unlike the Medical Model, disabilities aren’t caused by medical conditions. This Model says that society and our environment is what disables people, by making everyday life harder for some in comparison to others. 

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VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:

There are many ways we can view disability, what causes it, what it means exactly, and what should be done to support people with disabilities. These different perspectives are called “models of disability”. The model we use can make a big difference to how we understand people’s needs and make adjustments for people with disabilities. 

Today we’re going to discuss the Social Model of Disability.

In this model, unlike the Medical Model, disabilities aren’t caused by medical conditions. This Model says that society and our environment is what disables people, by making everyday life harder for some in comparison to others. So, if our society - meaning all of us as a collection of individuals - takes action to make sure that everyone has their individual needs met, fewer people would experience disability. 

The great thing about this is that we can all have the power to help!

With this model, the individual difficulties a person experiences, which prevent them from doing a specific task or activity, are called impairments. And if a person with an impairment faces extra disadvantages because of the way they’re treated by other people, or because the environment isn’t suitable for them, then it becomes a disability. 

In this context, a person who is blind has an impairment. They don’t have a disability until they’re put in a situation where society or the environment disables them, by failing to give them the tools and resources they need. If more and more of us adapted to the social model of thinking, it would mean that we take responsibility for the power we have to make a genuine difference to the lives of people that don’t yet have access to the quality of life they deserve.