The Disability Models: Shaping Realities, One Perspective at a Time

What are the disability models? What is a disability model, exactly? Learn about these perspectives that shape how you perceive yourself and others, and how others perceive you.

Feb 17, 2024

The thing I hate most about being disabled has nothing to do with my health or wellness and everything to do with the attitudes of other people, society, culture, and the professionals that purport to help us.

"God/Karma is punishing you for your sins."

"Have you tried Kombucha?"

"Our entrance isn't accessible, but it's just one step; we can lift your wheelchair up it!"

"I'll pray for you."

These anecdotes have either been said to me, or have been said to other disabled people I know. They are the product of the adoption of certain disability models throughout history--particularly in the West--models you've likely never heard of. Yet, they influence how you think about yourself and others, how others perceive you, and it influences politics and public policy surrounding disabled people, public health, health insurance, city planning, and more.

The Top 3 Disability Models You Should Know

In my research for this post, I encountered at least 14 different disability models, however there are three main models that have the most influence on society's prevailing attitudes toward disability.

First, though, what is a disability model?

Disability models don't define what specifically qualifies as a disability. Instead, the models are perspectives that are used to understand and explain the experience of disability in society. These perspectives shape how disability is perceived and addressed, influencing public attitude, political policy, and professional care.

I promise this will make more sense when we dig into the specific models. For now, picture it this way:

Let's say you have a friend who uses a wheelchair--let's call her Layla. You enjoy spending time with Layla, but not everything is wheelchair-friendly, including your home.

There are multiple ways of looking at how Layla might need help in order to hang out with you. The perspective the Medical Model of Disability takes is that there's something wrong in Layla's body that needs to be fixed or cured using scientific advancements or medicine. In contrast, the social model of disability takes the perspective that the problem is outside of the disabled person, and would suggest making changes to the environment to make it accessible for people of all abilities. But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself.

The Moral Model of Disability

Far back in human history, before we started writing about our exploits on this planet, there's evidence that we loved and cared for disabled people as best we could. When they passed on, we buried them with the same love and care as anyone else (Ancient Bones Offer Clues To How Long Ago Humans Cared For The Vulnerable).

I don't know what happened, but something changed and the Moral/Religious Model of Disability was adopted by many cultures.

The Moral Model of Disability says that disability is a punishment for sins committed by the disabled person or their parents/ancestors. This model led to certain ideas about how disabled people should be treated, some of which have survived to present-day.

One of the ideas that have survived to present day is this idea that because the disabled person somehow brought this 'suffering' upon themselves, they shouldn't be helped because it wouldn't help them pay for their sins; another idea is that the disabled person's immorality may rub off on the person helping, causing the helper pain and suffering. (Mackelprang and Salsgiver, pg. 106)(Disability: A Diversity Model Approach In Human Service Practice). We see this idea proliferated in the treatment of people with health problems associated with 'social deviancy'--think about the stigma that people with addiction issues or STIs face.

Another idea from the Moral/Religious Model that has still taken hold is the idea that the life of the disabled person is expendable, and even that ending their life might be considered a mercy (Mackelprang and Salsgiver, pg. 106). This idea is common in media about disabled people--think the book and movie "Me Before You" by JoJo Moyes. We also often see this in news coverage of parents who have murdered their disabled children.

In Romel W. Mackelprang and Richard O. Salsgiver's textbook, "Disability: A Diversity Model Approach in Human Service Practice", they talk about how in Christianity there is this idea that a person must experience suffering in order to scrub away moral messes. Since disability is viewed only as a form of suffering, "society views persons with disabilities as noble in their pursuit of simple life objectives" (Pg. 99)

This is also called inspiration porn (Stella Young's TED talk is by far the best way to learn about this term). This is commonly seen in viral videos and images shared on social media that feature disabled people doing innocuous things like walking or talking.

In Retief and Letšosa's paper, 'Models of Disability: A brief overiew', they mention that, "Another prominent form of the moral and/or religious model of disability is the idea that disabilities are essentially a test of faith or even salvific in nature." (Models of Disability: A Brief Overview) When disability is seen as a test of faith, there is usually the expectation that, with enough faith, the disabled person will find healing. We see this today with faith healers who cast out 'demons' (usually mental health issues), and perform 'healing miracles.' If the person doesn't get better, they say it's because they didn't believe hard enough.

The Medical Model of Disability

A raccoon wearing a red jumpsuit is using a wheelchair

While the Medical Model of Disability springs from the Moral Model, there are some key differences between the two. For one, the Medical Model sees the cause of disability as something wrong with the body and/or the mind that needs to be healed or cured, instead of as a punishment for committing sins. For another, this model's focus is on curing/fixing disabled people using science and medicine instead of relying on prayer or divine intervention to "make them better", or suggesting they should accept the suffering.

The Medical Model is widely adopted in the United States, particularly in health industries, despite the fact that it's not particularly successful (Mackelprang and Salsgiver, pg. 104). We see the medical model in action when the focus from medical professionals and people in the health industry is on getting the disabled person "back to normal", whether or not the person with the disability wants to be 'fixed.'

An example of this perspective can be seen in the organization, Autism Speaks. Their goal is to eradicate autism, and they refuse to see autistic people as experts in autism. Instead, they rely on medical professionals' opinions and ignore the voices of autistic people who say they don't want to be cured, they want better support, etc.

Another example involves assistive devices and technologies. I'm sure you've watched one of the many viral videos of the inventions that allow wheelchair users to roll up a set of stairs. These types of inventions sound great on paper, but they don't solve the real issue, which is that something more accessible wasn't put into place to begin with. These inventors could be inventing solutions that would make things more accessible for everyone, but instead they don't bother asking disabled people what they really need and want. They assume that they know what is best for the disabled person.

The Social Model of Disability

The social model of disability "views the origins of disability as the mental attitudes and physical structures of society, rather than a medical condition faced by an individual." (The Social Model of Disability Explained) What this means is that disabled people wouldn't have to be excluded from participating in "major domains of social life" (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) if attitudes and aspects of society were changed to be more inclusive.

Unlike the medical model, which sees disabled people as passive objects for health professionals to fix, the social model encourages disabled people to take an active role in their lives and to make decisions on their own behalf.

The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) is a piece of legislature that is based on the social model of disability. It protects Americans with disabilities from discrimination and protects their right to accommodations.

Inventions and products designed with Universal Design in mind are examples of the social model in action. With Universal Design, much effort is put into making an invention or product usable by all people, regardless of their ability. For example, automatic doors don't require any special skills or physical abilities, and even children can activate and use them.

The social model has helped to improve the lives of disabled people, however it's not flawless. It doesn't really take into account intersectionality issues, there are various versions of the social model that are being used, some implementations have focused more on physical impairments to the detriment of mental ones, and implementation overall has been a challenge.

The Other Disability Models

There are many flaws with the three most commonly used models, which has inspired the creation of other models that seek to better serve disabled people. Some are better than others.

The Other Disability Models That I Found

The Biopsychosocial Model of Disability The Charity Model of Disability The Cultural Model of Disability The Ecological Model of Disability The Empowerment Model of Disability The Environmental Model of Disability The Identity Model of Disability The Intersectional Model of Disability The Human Rights Model of Disability The Limits Model of Disability

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