This entry isn't in answer to a specific activity (yet) but I've been reading about different models of disability and I guess I just want to process some of this information from a personal point of view before applying it to the course and my work.I hadn't heard of the concept of 'models of disability' before. This is new to me but I've been thinking about it for a week or two. I even made some notes on my trusty whiteboard about it. Then I took a photo of it. Then I realised that anyone with a screen reader can't access the information that way. So here is the information in a format that a screen reader can process (I hope).
Medical Model
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Rehabilitation Model
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Functional Model
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Social Model
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Post-social Model
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Charity Model
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My thoughts on these models
I think there's an element of truth in most of these models, at least for some disabled people. On the surface, I like the social and post-social models because they seem to empower disabled people and they recognise the fact that many of the things we struggle with are not just because of our impairment but because of something in the environment.
The model I least identify with is the charity model. I am not tragic, weak or helpless and I can do most things for myself, with varying degrees of effort. I'm also not keen on the rehabilitation model because I frequently come face-to-face with the attitude that I'm broken and need fixing and in my opinion, nothing could be further from the truth.
The model that has disturbed my thinking the most is the medical model. Referring to me as problem is pretty offensive and I think that society still needs to change quite a lot, however I gain a lot of self-esteem from my own ability to adapt and change. It's like problem solving. Here's a couple of examples...
When I first started using a wheelchair, I couldn't open doors and get myself through. I'm quite a big lady and my chair is on the wide side, so if somebody holds a door open, I often still can't get through, not without running them over. I experimented with different ways of doing doors, until I worked out a way that works for me. As I open the door I use the momentum of the door and the opposite frame to pull myself through. That way, I also don't trap my hands between my wheels and the frame. Nobody had to change the doors or how doors work. The problem was not with society and its design of doors. The problem was that I hadn't yet learned how to adapt an activity that I had been competent at from toddlerhood. I adapted and changed and the problem went away.
Before my injury, I was a teacher. Teachers work way harder than most people realise, often putting in between 50 and 70 hours a week. Let's stop there - society needs to change! But society needs to change and recognise teachers for the hard work they do and to stop expecting the impossible from them. Not disability-related! I found that post-injury, with all my physio and extra physical needs, teaching became impossible. I could have stopped giving it 100% and just done less but I would have become a failing teacher. So I changed and adapted. I could have gone to the other extreme, given up work and entered the charity model, but I'm still more than capable of working - just in the right job.
In both of these situations, I would say that my disability was the problem. That's not quite the same as saying that I was the problem. I have become quite a confident disabled person though because of my capacity to adapt and change. If that was taken away from me, I would maybe have an easier ride but I would become less. It would make me feel like a victim and would disempower me. So whilst I feel that I should really object to the medical model, actually I don't. I can see why others would disagree though.
I think there's an element of truth in most of these models, at least for some disabled people. On the surface, I like the social and post-social models because they seem to empower disabled people and they recognise the fact that many of the things we struggle with are not just because of our impairment but because of something in the environment.
The model I least identify with is the charity model. I am not tragic, weak or helpless and I can do most things for myself, with varying degrees of effort. I'm also not keen on the rehabilitation model because I frequently come face-to-face with the attitude that I'm broken and need fixing and in my opinion, nothing could be further from the truth.
The model that has disturbed my thinking the most is the medical model. Referring to me as problem is pretty offensive and I think that society still needs to change quite a lot, however I gain a lot of self-esteem from my own ability to adapt and change. It's like problem solving. Here's a couple of examples...
When I first started using a wheelchair, I couldn't open doors and get myself through. I'm quite a big lady and my chair is on the wide side, so if somebody holds a door open, I often still can't get through, not without running them over. I experimented with different ways of doing doors, until I worked out a way that works for me. As I open the door I use the momentum of the door and the opposite frame to pull myself through. That way, I also don't trap my hands between my wheels and the frame. Nobody had to change the doors or how doors work. The problem was not with society and its design of doors. The problem was that I hadn't yet learned how to adapt an activity that I had been competent at from toddlerhood. I adapted and changed and the problem went away.
Before my injury, I was a teacher. Teachers work way harder than most people realise, often putting in between 50 and 70 hours a week. Let's stop there - society needs to change! But society needs to change and recognise teachers for the hard work they do and to stop expecting the impossible from them. Not disability-related! I found that post-injury, with all my physio and extra physical needs, teaching became impossible. I could have stopped giving it 100% and just done less but I would have become a failing teacher. So I changed and adapted. I could have gone to the other extreme, given up work and entered the charity model, but I'm still more than capable of working - just in the right job.
In both of these situations, I would say that my disability was the problem. That's not quite the same as saying that I was the problem. I have become quite a confident disabled person though because of my capacity to adapt and change. If that was taken away from me, I would maybe have an easier ride but I would become less. It would make me feel like a victim and would disempower me. So whilst I feel that I should really object to the medical model, actually I don't. I can see why others would disagree though.
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