Disability in Modern British Society
Discuss the levels of inequality or disadvantage
encountered by disability in modern British Society.
Approximately 8.5 million people in the United Kingdom are registered
disabled (Office of National Statistics 2002 cited in Giddens 2006:287).
Definitions of disability is important to the way in which its nature is
investigated and also to its extent in society. This essay will illustrate
the broad definitions of disability and the dissimilarity between
disability and impairment. It will also discuss how in modern British
Society inequality and disadvantages are still being encountered by the
disabled and the policies that have been put into place to counteract
this.
The Collins Concise English Dictionary 1986 defines disability as “The
condition of being unable to perform task or function because of a
physical or mental impairment”. This focuses on the inability of the
individual. In contrast, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Giddens
2006:287) defines “A person has a disability if he or she has a physical
or mental impairment which has a substantial or long term adverse
effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities”.
This definition highlights the external oppression of society rather than
something lacking in the individual. These two examples carry very
different emphases on what makes an individual “disabled” and indeed
accentuates the different constructions of disability in modern British
Society.
In the outset the individual model which is described as the dominant
understanding of disability insists that individual limitations are the
major root of the problems experienced by disabled people. This
model is also recognized as the “medical model” as it is seen that
medical specialists play an important role in the diagnosis, curative
and rehabilitation to the “problems” of disabled people. In recent
decades this model has been challenged,
encountered by disability in modern British Society.
Approximately 8.5 million people in the United Kingdom are registered
disabled (Office of National Statistics 2002 cited in Giddens 2006:287).
Definitions of disability is important to the way in which its nature is
investigated and also to its extent in society. This essay will illustrate
the broad definitions of disability and the dissimilarity between
disability and impairment. It will also discuss how in modern British
Society inequality and disadvantages are still being encountered by the
disabled and the policies that have been put into place to counteract
this.
The Collins Concise English Dictionary 1986 defines disability as “The
condition of being unable to perform task or function because of a
physical or mental impairment”. This focuses on the inability of the
individual. In contrast, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Giddens
2006:287) defines “A person has a disability if he or she has a physical
or mental impairment which has a substantial or long term adverse
effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities”.
This definition highlights the external oppression of society rather than
something lacking in the individual. These two examples carry very
different emphases on what makes an individual “disabled” and indeed
accentuates the different constructions of disability in modern British
Society.
In the outset the individual model which is described as the dominant
understanding of disability insists that individual limitations are the
major root of the problems experienced by disabled people. This
model is also recognized as the “medical model” as it is seen that
medical specialists play an important role in the diagnosis, curative
and rehabilitation to the “problems” of disabled people. In recent
decades this model has been challenged,
Bibliography: Barton, L. (2001). Disability, Politics & The Struggle For Change. Giddens, A. (2006). Sociology (5th Edition). Cambridge: Polity Press. Haralambos, M., Heald, R. and Holborn, M. (Eds. 2004). Sociology Themes and Perspectives (6th Edition) (Accessed 25th October 2008). Available from World Wide Web: http://www.jrf.org.uk/knowledge/findings/socialcare/2106.asp. Joseph Rowntree Foundation. (2008). Housing and disabled children. (online). (Accessed 25th October 2008). Available from World Wide Web: