The Social Model

The Social Model

In 1975 the Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation and The Disability Alliance 49 discussed what we now know as the Social Model for disability50 . This model has had a substantial impact on the community and created a new approach to the way disability is discussed; it also impacted the way some disabled people perceived themselves and their place in the world. The Social Model considers the barriers a person may face due to their impairment, but primarily looks at the social obstacles that create segregation and they define those as the disabling factor51 . It is a revolutionary new way of looking at what can be possible for a disabled person without creating flawed assumptions and low expectations. This model does not see the person's condition as the disabling force; rather it looks at what realistically and pragmatically can be done to help the person manoeuvre through society’s blockades for it is these inequalities that prevent total social contribution and inclusion.

49 The Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation and The Disability Alliance, The Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation and The Disability Alliance discuss Fundamental Principles of Disability: Being a summary of the discussion held on 22nd November, 1975 and containing commentaries from each organisation. (1997) <https://disability-stucheies.leeds.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/library/UPIASfundamental-principles.pdf.> [Accessed 27 November 2020] (pp. 4- 14). 50 Scope, Social model of disability. [n.d.] <https://www.scope.org.uk/about-us/social-model-of-disability/> [Accessed 27 November 2020] 51 Scope, Social model, Online video, YouTube, 19 October 2018 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m_EbRH1aF4&feature=emb_title > [Accessed 12 January 2021]

Fig. 1. Peniel Foundation, ‘This model says that people are disabled by barriers in society and not by having the impairment itself. The Social Model helps us recognize barriers that make life difficult for people with disabilities. Removing this barriers created equality and offers people with disabilities more independence, choice and control. Have you ever heard about the Social Model of disabilities.’ (Screenshot, Instagram, @penielfoundation, 3 November 2020) <https://www.instagram.com/p/CHIFlVylhRN/ > [Accessed 12 January 2021]

Scope is a UK leading disability charity promoting social justice and equality. On their website they show a video interview with disability advocates sharing their opinions of the Social Model. A resounding six out of six participants praised the model, saying it helped them gain confidence and self-esteem. An interviewee described the feelings the Social Model had introduced, such as removing passivity in his medical impairment, reinforcing that it is a society's choices that disable 52 .

Psycho-emotional disablism is a mutually inclusive effect of structural disablism. The multifaceted dimensions of inequalities within the lives of disabled people and the low expectations bought about through ablism are the consequences of historic globally sustained

52 Scope, Social model, Film: what is the social model of disability, (See Appendix A for transcript) [Accessed 12 January 2021]

oppression. Many of our interpersonal skills are developed through socialising. In a world that still holds a Eugenic vision towards difference, acts of invalidation via patronising behaviours or staring onlookers produce anxiety as an unavoidable consequence. An ignorance towards differences also causes many disabled people to go to great lengths to conceal their impairments; this can be exhausting. Jess is a disability activist who uses Instagram as her platform to challenge stereotypes, negative attitudes and regressive disability language. In January 2021, she used her platform to dispute the use of the word 'brave' concerning people with disabilities. Her picture was titled, "Please do not call my existence brave - it does not mean what you think." In this post, Jess describes the impact on her psycho-emotional health when people refer to her existence as brave. She details her internal reaction: "what I hear is that just existing in this body requires some kind of extraordinary strength, and that most people would not want this existence." She acknowledges that the sentiment may come from a well-intended perspective, although she says, "Surviving is brave, but my survival is no more brave than anyone else's". 53

Many disabled people internalise these feelings, in correlation with many other minority groups. Feelings such as these cause stress, a direct link to illness and the cause of many conditions being exacerbated. A vicious cycle of emotional pain, creating physical harm. Dr Amy Kavanagh is a visually impaired activist and campaigner. She described her experience of being refused physical access to her place of work, “On Thursday, experiencing an access failure at work was so traumatic it caused me to have a panic attack. Other Half had to stop

53Jess Caron, ‘Please do not call my existence brave - it does not mean what you think.’ (Instagram Post, @chronically.jess, 6 January 2021), <https://www.instagram.com/p/CJsMsTiDQbW/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link > [Accessed 12 January 2021].

me from self harming. I’m still recovering from it.54” She continues sharing her experience on the social media platform Twitter in a further tweet explaining “The trauma comes from the repeated feeling of asking for support & being told you don’t deserve it. It eats away at your confidence & self worth. I feel like a 9 year old again, asking the teacher for help & being screamed at for not being able to see the text book”.55

54 Dr Amy Kavanagh, ‘On Thursday, experiencing an access failure at work was so traumatic it caused me to have a panic attack. Other Half had to stop me from self harming I’m still recovering from it.’ (Tweet, @blondeHistorian, 9 January 2021). <https://twitter.com/BlondeHistorian/status/1347860083317866499 > [Accessed 11 January 2021] 55 Dr Amy Kavanagh ‘The trauma comes from the repeated feeling of asking for support & being told you don’t deserve it. It eats away at your confidence & self worth. I feel like a 9 year old again, asking the teacher for help & being screamed at for not being able to see the text book.’ (Tweet, @blondeHistorian, 9 January 2021) <https://twitter.com/BlondeHistorian/status/1347860083317866499> [Accessed 11 January 2021]