Comparing The Social Model And The Medical Model Of Disability

The models of disability are conceptual frameworks for understanding disability which shows detailed insight into why certain attitudes towards disability exist and how they are reinforced in society. The two main models are the medical model and the social model. The medical model sees disability as a medical problem, a defect, lying within the individual, their either could be born with it or become disabled due to an illness that has occurred during ones lifespan i.e. Paralysis and amputation. This model brings some negative attitudes held towards people with disabilities; they are seen as defective and dependent, in need of cure or rehabilitation. The desired solution to this problem is often the cure or rehabilitation of the individual, in order to fix the “defect” so that he or she can become closer to “normal.” In Deborah Katlan Study she states “society is not seen as having any underlying responsibility to accommodate people with disabilities; people must instead adapt themselves to existing circumstances, usually with help from medical professionals who provide treatment and rehabilitation “(Kaplan 1998), here Katlan brings a very important point on how disabled people should view the medical model as its benefits and not to exclude themselves from society.
The medical model adopts that the impairment arises from symptoms due to a disorder, syndrome, disease, or condition that is subsequently categorised and classified, Drake (2001) also backs this up in his book by stating “Prevention,treatment,and management of disease processes and traumas in service of reducing or eliminating the pathology associated with disability, as well as secondary conditions, are its goals” (Drake, 2001).Moving on, the social model on the other hand, views disability as coming from society and environmental