Three Models Of Disability

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An individual with a physical or mental impairment that interferes with their daily life is said to have a disability (ADA, 2012). Lutz & Bowers (2003) defines disability as “a limitation in performing certain roles and tasks that society expects an individual to perform.” Disabilities can affect all type of individuals, no matter their race, sex, socio-economic status, or age. According to CDC (2015), “most all individuals will develop some type of disabling condition within their life,” These disabling conditions can be in many forms, such as physical, cognitive, psychiatric or sensory. Disabilities have been viewed in a negative light through out history. People with disabilities (PWD) have been isolated and discriminated against. The three main models of disability are the medical, social and ICF models. These perspectives address and define the concept of disability. They examine several factors such as social, medical, environmental, and individual. According to the Disabled People’s International (1982) disability is “the loss or limitation of opportunities to take part in the normal life of the community on an equal level with others …show more content…

The physician’s objective would be then to diagnosis and treat the patient, so they are able to return to normal health. For people with disabilities, the medical model is used to better “normalize” the individual, and “restore functional capacity so that he or she can live as ‘normal’ a life as possible,” Hayes & Hannold, 2007). Instead of the medical model viewing the individual with a disability as a person, it views them as pathology, (L. Maitlen, personal communication, 2016). Smart and Smart (2006), explain that the medical model groups individuals with disabilities together, and instead of seeing them as a person, that happens to have a disability, it sees them as ‘the blind’, or ‘the mentally

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