Individual Model Of Disability Barriers Essay

798 Words2 Pages

The Barrier of Entering

Disability is everywhere; sometimes it is visible and other times it is not. When asked to look for it you can often find it in places you frequently visit but just never have paid enough attention to notice it. According to the world health organization disability is, “any restriction or lack of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered ‘normal’ for a human being” (2004). I currently work at a fast-food restaurant. The doors to this restaurant are not accessible to people with disabilities because they do not open automatically. One day while I was working, a costumer seemed to be having difficulties coming in to place an order, the problem appeared to be that he was unable to open the door while trying to operate his wheelchair. He was frustrated and seemed embarrassed because he required another costumers help to do the task of opening the door, which is often seen as a simple everyday routine. The costumer who was unable to come inside the restaurant is considered to be …show more content…

The social model requires society to change the way it is structured rather then blaming the individual. In contrast, the individual model makes the costumer feel at fault hence lowers his confidence, but the social model insures the costumer that it was not his fault but rather those who built the doors without thinking about the disabled minorities (Oliver, 1990). The individual model fails to distinguish the difference between impairment and illness and it assumes all bodies with disabilities are in need of medical treatment (Oliver, 1990). Although the social model does distinguish the difference it often dismisses the individual and medical approaches and thus it can be interpreted as rejecting the medical prevention (Shakespeare,

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