In this day and age, social awareness and civil rights, in general, has been the bulk of our era where not only do we voice our opinions; we also seek change through action. The disability community is an imminent example of this institutionalized systemic oppression. Researchers throughout centuries have articulated and have displayed their own perspectives and views on the disability community. One example of this can be seen through the medical/deficit model, that depicts the individual as being someone who is a problem/burden on society. On the other hand, the social constructivist model of disability represents the acknowledgement of the disability, while also focusing on the barriers that socially constrain an individual to their impairment.
In terms of the medical model, disability is considered to be an issue rather than something of importance that not only affects an individual, but rather a whole population. Because of this model, scientists have always sought to find a “cure” or just try and “fix the issue” that we think to be a burden on the able-bodied community. Personally speaking, I feel like this is “theory” of fixing an issue that is not normal is something I used to unconsciously think about before being introduced to this course. For example, when I was younger I used to tease my little sister about her having to take “special-ed classes” and be labeled as someone with ADHD and IED. As a young girl, I was not educated enough to know that this mindset and perspective on people who are viewed as “special” is wrong. My mother used to take my little sister to school and the doctor would prescribe her to pills that can help her “control that mental disturbance.” Because of this, society and parents who have children that are labeled as ‘disabled,’ choose to believe in ‘professionals’ who went to medical school for years and have so much experience in a field we are not fully clear on.
The medical model not only depicts the problem; it continues to consequently ostracize and marginalize individuals. In their article, Hamre et al. continues to support this idea by explaining that “people with disabilities are still today too often warehoused in nursing homes and sometimes even state institutions… children were sent to separate schools with only other students with disabilities label” (94). By this, Hamre et al. shows that these medical theories and depictions on disabled individuals has lead to society reacting to these issues by placing them in a facility that is supposed to ‘cure’ them. People with a disability were viewed as a disturbance in society because they require “plenty” of attention to care. Similarly, in his article, Myth of Clinical Judgment, Biklen also states that there “is no evidence that segregated schooling produces educational results… or minimize the problems that severely retarded students typically experience in generalizing their learning from one setting to another” (131).One example of this is the Willowbrook State School in Staten Island that institutionalized children with disabilities who were deemed ‘unfit’ to be with an ‘everyday normal person.’ In my opinion, this state-sponsored school polished its name by calling themselves a ‘state school’ because behind closed doors they practiced questionable experiments, medical procedures and conditions that violated basic human rights. With a social outcry on this state-sponsored school because of the blatant cruel conditions eventually led to the closing of the institution.
Another factor to consider is the social constructivist model that acknowledges an individual's disability, but also focuses on the barriers and stereotypes that come with their ‘impairment.’ An example of this is depicted through the idea that a lot of people who are disabled are not happy with the life they live. In the documentary, How Billy Broke His Head, when being asked about how they feel about their ‘conditions’ they reply, “I’m not drowning, its how I swim.” In my opinion, this quote opened up a whole new perspective for me and essentially elucidated their point of view on their own lives because of the fact that some people may think that they are suffering from their disability (drowning), when in reality that is the way they regularly go about life. Similarly, in a NY Times article called “Unspeakable Conversations,” we see how the narrator speaks on a professor from Princeton who believes in selective infanticide. She later speaks on a personal anecdote where someone told her that they would die if they had to live the way she did; her response: “I used to try to explain that in fact I enjoy my life, that it's a great sensual pleasure to zoom by power chair on these delicious muggy streets, that I have no more reason to kill myself than most people.” This is important because a lot of people do not want their impairments to speak for them, they essentially want to step out of the box they are labeled in and continue to shine through who they are… not a disability. An example of this stepping stone of surpassing their labels is with all the protests they manifested to try and have accessible transportation/buildings for those in wheelchairs; this paved the way for future manifestations on their rights.
To further support the idea that the social model intentionally focuses on the barriers, one prime example of an institution that supports the social model is: school. Yes, schools! Classes for ‘special-ed kids,’ or students who need ‘extra attention’ are examples of this because it is a fault that is embedded in our society; those kids need to ‘live up to our standards.’ In his article, Linton, explains “special education, rehabilitation and other disability-related fields were and remain more clearly a reaction to social need than fields determined by a set of principles and ideas” (528). Not only does this demonstrate how society is so quick to judge and see a non-abled person with such sympathy and think of their suffering; however it also shows how these ‘special cares and extra attention’ doesn’t benefit the individual in the long-run because they have a limited life of dependency. The cruel reality of these social barriers and stereotypes limit their capabilities and start the prejudices for people with disabilities. This is important for me because I have a family friend whose daughter is autistic and a lot of people look at her and say “she doesn’t look autistic… is she okay? What is wrong with her?” This bothers me because sometimes I think to myself: what does ‘she doesn’t look autistic mean.’ Society is so conformed to the idea that autistic people look a certain way and act a certain way, but the thing is the parent of the child(family friend) has done everything in her power to try and make her child ‘normal’ because she doesn’t want anyone to be quick to judge. As a result of this uneducated bewilderment by “normal people,” we as a society need to continue to change the mindset of said people to make sure that there is a level of understanding when it comes to disability and disability studies in general.
All things considered, I feel like the social model and the medical model relate in the fact that both models see the disability and still find it to be a problem; the social model sees it as a way to start up barriers and prejudices, while the medical finds it to be something to fix because it’s a problem. However, they only differ in the ways in which they go about treating the disability community. For example, the medical model finds them to be a burden on society and wants to fix them, while the social model acts on those reactions by isolating them.
In conclusion, there has been and continues to be a fight for inclusiveness and an encouragement to understand the perspectives of people with disabilities. Unfortunately, the medical model continues to marginalize people with nursing homes and rehabilitation centers because of the fact that abled people find non-abled people to be an interruption to their lives. Nevertheless, the social model acknowledges the disability, but can’t take a few steps back to fully understand that stereotypes/social barriers limit their capabilities in the future. Taking everything into consideration, it can be said that both models locate their knowledge of disability from an outside perspective than from a first-hand experience. Some people can listen to one’s story and say they understand, but they will never fully comprehend unless they take a few steps in their shoes. This should only encourage society to have courses like disability studies to educate future generations on this disparity between the quote-on-quote ‘normal’ community to the disability community. It goes without saying that this is paving the way for future benefits for the disability community and its future generations.