Social Model of Disability

According to the Medical Model
of Disability,

the word disabled means "less able".

Less able to achieve your potential.

Less able to have
meaningful relationships.

Less able to play an active part
in the world around you.

And that this is just your bad luck.

This outdated view of the world

puts the responsibility
of overcoming disabling barriers

on the person with an impairment.

But this idea is changing...

The more modern Social Model of Disability

says that a person
doesn't "have a disability"

but that they are disabled.

They are disabled by society.

It is the attitudes and physical barriers
imposed on them by society

that prevents them
from achieving their potential.

The Social Model was developed
by disabled people and their allies

to help them take action
against discrimination,

and to empower people to find solutions,

remove barriers, and campaign together

for equality and human rights.

They showed how people
with lots of different impairments

face many of the same problems.

These disabling barriers include:

prejudiced opinions and attitudes,

restricted access,

and people being systematically excluded.

The social model looks for the ways

that society can be planned and organized

in order to provide accessibility,

Independence, and opportunity

in a way that enables people
rather than disables them.

What we learn
from the Social Model of Disability

is that disability is a social construct

created by social barriers,

barriers which can be eliminated.

We learn that it is the responsibility
of government,

public spaces,
businesses, and individual people

to make the changes,
to increase the access,

and build a more equal society,

where everyone has the opportunity
to reach their full potential.