medical model of disability medical model of disability the medical model of disability, or medical model, is based in a biomedical perception of disability. this model links a disability diagnosis to an individual's physical body. the model supposes that this disability may reduce the individual's quality of life and aims to diminish or correct this disability with medical intervention. it is often contrasted with the social model of disability. disability theory and models disability theory ableism / disablism medical model social model education mainstreaming individualized education program (iep) special needs special school special education learning disability therapy physical occupational speech societal implications disability rights movement inclusion normalization people-first language pejorative terms sexuality and disability personal assistance unlicensed assistive personnel (adls) orthotics and braces prosthetics assistive technology assisted living mobility aid physical accessibility universal design web accessibility socioeconomic assistance social security disability insurance supplemental security income ticket to work disability living allowance disabled students allowance disabled persons railcard freedom pass assured income forthe severely handicapped groupsorganizations national telecommuting institute society for disability studies disabled peoples' international (dpi) visitability wethe15 parasports special olympics paralympic games deaflympics invictus games culture disability in the arts disability art disability in the media disabilitylists part of a series ondiscrimination forms institutional structural attributes age disability genetics hair color hair texture height looks size language race / ethnicity nordicism skin color rank caste class religion sex sexual orientation social acephobia arophobia adultism anti-albinism anti-autism anti-drug addicts anti-homelessness anti-intellectualism anti-intersex anti-left handedness anti-masonry aporophobia audism biphobia cronyism elitism ephebiphobia fatphobia gayphobia gerontophobia heterosexism hiv/aids stigma homophobia leprosy stigma lesbophobia misandry misogyny nepotism pedophobia perpetual foreigner pregnancy sectarianism supremacism black white transphobia non-binary transmisogyny trans men vegaphobia xenophobia religious ahmadiyya atheism baháʼí faith buddhism catholicism christianity post–cold war era druze falun gong hinduism persecution untouchability islam persecution jehovah's witnesses judaism persecution lds or mormon neopaganism non-muslims eastern orthodox oriental orthodox copts protestantism rastafari sikhs shi'ism sufism sunnism zoroastrianism ethnic/national african afghan albanian american arab armenian australian austrian azerbaijani bosnian brazilian british canadian catalan chechen chilean chinese croat english filipino finnish french fulani georgian german greek haitian hazara hispanic hungarian igbo indian canadian and us indigenous peoples indonesian iranian irish israeli italian japanese jewish khmer korean kurdish malay mexican middle eastern mongolian montenegrin muhajirs pakistani palestinian pashtun polish quebec romani romanian russian scottish serb slavic somali tatar thai tibetan turkish ukrainian uyghur venezuelan vietnamese manifestations blood libel bullying online lgbt compulsory sterilization corrective rape counter-jihad cultural genocide defamation democide disability hate crime dog-whistle politics eliminationism economic education employment ethnic cleansing ethnic conflict ethnic hatred ethnic joke ethnocide forced conversion freak show gay bashing gendercide genital modification and mutilation genocide examples glass ceiling hate crime lgbt hate group hate speech online homeless dumping housing indian rolling infantilization language minoritization lavender scare lynching mortgage murder music native american mascots occupational segregation opposition to immigration persecution pogrom purge red scare religious persecution religious terrorism religious violence religious war scapegoating segregation academy sex-selective abortion slavery slut-shaming violence against transgender people victimisation violence against men violence against women white flight white genocide conspiracy theory white power music wife selling witch-hunt policies age of candidacy babel proclamation blood purity blood quantum citizen, speak turkish! crime of apartheid dialect card disabilities catholic jewish environmental racism ethnocracy ethnopluralism gender pay gap gerontocracy gerrymandering ghetto benches internment jewish quota jim crow laws ketuanan melayu article 153 kinder der landstrasse law for protection of the nation mccarthyism msm blood donation restrictions nonpersons numerus clausus (as religious or racial quota) nuremberg laws one-drop rule racial quota racial steering redlining same-sex marriage (laws and issues prohibiting) segregation age racial religious sexual sodomy law state atheism state religion symbole ugly law vergonha voter suppression welsh not white australia policy countermeasures affirmative action anti-discrimination law cultural assimilation cultural pluralism diversity training empowerment environmental justice feminism fighting discrimination hate speech laws by country human rights intersex rights lgbt rights masculism multiculturalism nonviolence racial integration reappropriation self-determination social integration toleration related topics bias dehumanization go back to where you came from oppression internalized power distance prejudice reverse discrimination social exclusion social stigma stereotype threat civil liberties diversity intersectionality multiculturalism polyculturalism political correctness white privilege racial bias in criminal news (us) racism by country reverse racism the talk (us) woke (us) amatonormativity gender roles heteronormativity male privilege masculism second-generation gender bias medical model of disability autism neurodiversity social model of disability allophilia ethnic penalty oikophobia christian privilege religious intolerance eugenics net bias snobbery speciesism police brutality prisoner abuse the medical model focuses on curing or managing illness or disability. by extension, the medical model supposes a "compassionate" or just society invests resources in health care and related services in an attempt to cure or manage disabilities medically. this is in an aim to expand functionality and/or improve functioning, and to allow disabled persons a more "normal" life. the medical profession's responsibility and potential in this area is seen as central. history before the introduction of the biomedical model, patients relaying their narratives to the doctors was paramount. through these narratives and developing an intimate relationship with the patients, the doctors would develop treatment plans in a time when diagnostic and treatment options were limited. this could particularly be illustrated with aristocratic doctors treating the elite during the 17th and 18th century. in 1980, the world health organization (who) introduced a framework for working with disability, publishing the "international classification of impairments, disabilities and handicaps". the framework proposed to approach disability by using the terms impairment, handicap and disability. impairment = a loss or abnormality of physical bodily structure or function, of logic-psychic origin, or physiological or anatomical origin disability = any limitation or function loss deriving from impairment that prevents the performance of an activity in the time lapse considered normal for a human being handicap = the disadvantaged condition deriving from impairment or disability limiting a person performing a role considered normal in respect of age, sex and social and cultural factors components and usage while personal narrative is present in interpersonal interactions, and particularly dominant in western culture, personal narrative during interactions with medical personnel is reduced to relaying information about specific symptoms of the disability to medical professionals. the medical professionals then interpret the information provided about the disability by the patient to determine a diagnosis, which likely will be linked to biological causes. medical professionals now define what is "normal" and what is "abnormal" in terms of biology and disability. in some countries, the medical model of disability has influenced legislation and policy pertaining to persons with disabilities on a national level. the international classification of functioning, disability and health (icf), published in 2001, defines disability as an umbrella term for impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions. disability is the interaction between individuals with a health condition (such as cerebral palsy, down syndrome and depression) and personal and environmental factors (such as negative attitudes, inaccessible transportation and public buildings, and limited social supports). the altered language and words used show a marked change in emphasis from talking in terms of disease or impairment to talking in terms of levels of health and functioning. it takes into account the social aspects of disability and does not see disability only as a 'medical' or 'biological' dysfunction. that change is consistent with widespread acceptance of the social model of disability. criticism further information: social model of disability the medical model focuses on individual intervention and treatment as the proper approach to disability. emphasis is placed on the disability rather than on the systems and structures that inhibit the lives of people with disabilities. under the medical model, disabled bodies are depicted as deviant, pathological, and defective, thus, best understood in medical terms. the history and future of disability are severely constricted, focusing solely on medical implications and ignoring very real social constructions contributing to the experience of disability. alternatively, the social model presents disability less as an objective fact of the body and mind, and positions it in terms of social relations. among advocates of disability rights, who tend to subscribe to the social model instead, the medical model of disability is often cited as the basis of an unintended social degradation of disabled people. resources are seen as excessively misdirected towards an almost-exclusively medical focus when those same resources could potentially be used towards things like universal design and societal inclusionary practices. this includes the monetary and societal costs and benefits of various interventions, be they medical, surgical, social or occupational, from prosthetics, drug-based and other "cures", and medical tests such as genetic screening or preimplantation genetic diagnosis. according to disability rights advocates, the medical model of disability is used to justify large investment in these procedures, technologies and research, when adaptation of the disabled person's environment could potentially be more beneficial to the society at large, as well as financially cheaper and physically more attainable. also, some disability rights groups see the medical model of disability as a civil rights issue and criticise charitable organizations or medical initiatives that use it in their portrayal of disabled people, because it promotes a pitiable, essentially negative, largely disempowered image of people with disabilities rather than casting disability as a political, social and environmental problem (see also the political slogan "piss on pity").