Medical Model
The medical model defines disability in terms of biological limitations. Disability is viewed as a problem that is caused by medically-diagnosed genetic disorders, disease, trauma, or other health conditions. Disability is treated as a biological problem that diminishes quality of life and needs to be treated with professional medical care.
The legal definition of disabilities often relies on the assumptions of the medical model. A person is legally designated as “disabled” if the person meets a certain threshold of biological limitation. This legal/medical definition is often used as a way to decide whether a person should receive certain government financial benefits, or whether an employer is required to provide disability accommodations to the person in the workplace, or whether a student is eligible for disability accommodations at school or in the university.
A diagram of stylized figures describing the medical model. It highlights the words ‘The condition is the problem,’ as well as the words: physicians, specialists, therapists, social workers, different house designs, different schools, back entrance to buildings, lower expectations, fewer opportunities, less desirable jobs.
Strengths of the Medical Model
The medical model explicitly acknowledges that there is a biological condition that places an individual at a disadvantage compared to the majority of the population. In other words, it states an obvious point about the biological reality of disabilities.
In a clinical medical setting, a clearly-defined set of biological criteria to diagnose a person’s condition helps medical professionals make important decisions in terms of treatment. Similarly, when deciding who should receive government assistance, a clearly-defined set of criteria helps inform those decisions.
Weaknesses of the Medical Model
The medical model of disability is widely criticized by disability advocates. It focuses only on a person’s biology, overlooking barriers in the environment. For example, someone who can’t use their legs is not at fault for a building that only has stairs. In that case, there is a fundamental problem with the building’s design — it fails to account for human diversity.
The medical model also frames disability as an individual deficit, which can stigmatize people and negatively affect their sense of self.
Additionally, when medical definitions determine eligibility for benefits, they can be too narrow, leaving some people without the support they need. Requiring repeated proof of disability helps ensure fairness, but it can also be time-consuming and feel degrading.
Social Model
The social model of disability offers a different perspective from the medical model. Instead of defining disability solely by a person’s body or condition, it emphasizes that society and the environment can create barriers. In many cases, what we call “disability” is the result of avoidable obstacles, including design choices, policies, and attitudes that limit participation.
The social model highlights how inclusive design can remove barriers and make everyday life more accessible for people with disabilities. It underscores the human right to participate fully and meaningfully in society.
For accessibility professionals, the social model provides essential context. By designing websites, buildings, products, and transportation systems with accessibility in mind, they help create environments that enable participation rather than create obstacles for people with different abilities.
A diagram describing the social model. Stylized figures illustrate these concepts: Integrated schools, Accessible transportation, Accessible houses, Equal access to buildings, Web designers, Choice of jobs, Product designers, Public planners, and Higher expectations.
A Thought Experiment: A Town of All Wheelchair Users
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Video source can be found here: Social Model Animation opens in a new window
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Imagine a town full of physically impaired people, all wheelchair users. They run everything. There aren’t any able-bodied people, so, naturally, when they built the town, the community decided it was pointless to have ceilings 10-foot high and doors 7-foot high, so the ceilings were built at 7 foot the doors at 5 foot. In every way, they designed the place the way they wanted it.
One day, a few able-bodied people come to stay. One of the first things they notice is the height of the doors. And the reason they notice is because they keep hitting their heads. They come to stand out by the bruises they carry on their foreheads. Soon, doctors, psychiatrists, and social workers all become involved. Committees are formed. Many people are worried about what becomes known as “the problem of the able-bodied.” Throughout the town there is a growth of real concern.
Specially toughened helmets are handed out free to the able-bodied, to be worn at all times. Braces are designed, which give support and relief while keeping the able-bodied wearer bent to normal height. Various groups of compassionate wheelchair users get together and form registered charities. Every quarter, they have a collection day. Upturned helmets are left in pubs and shops for people to drop their small change into. There is talk of founding special homes.
But then, one day, it dawns on the able-bodied that there is nothing actually wrong with them, just that society excludes them.
End of transcript.
Strengths of the Social Model
The social model empowers people with disabilities by removing the stigma often attached to physical limitations. Instead of expecting individuals to adapt to a world built for people without disabilities, it calls on society to create inclusive environments where everyone can participate fully.
It also encourages designers (both physical and digital) to think broadly about usability. Inclusive design can take more creativity, but the payoff is better environments for everyone, not just people with disabilities.
At its core, the social model shows that when we design with accessibility in mind, society as a whole becomes more welcoming, fair, and capable of supporting a higher quality of life for all.
Weaknesses of the Social Model
Some disability advocates note that while the social model helps counter the narrow focus of the medical model, it can sometimes downplay the physical reality of a person’s disability. A disability can be an important part of someone’s identity, and minimizing it too much may discourage open discussion. Accepting and embracing one’s disability can be healthy emotionally and psychologically. The social identity model of disability (which we’ll cover later) was developed in part to address this concern.
Biopsychosocial Model
The biopsychosocial model views disability as a complex, multi-faceted concept, combining insights from both the medical and social models. It considers biological, individual, and social factors.
This model forms the basis of the World Health Organization’s 2002 International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).
Strengths of the Biopsychosocial Model
This model considers the biological, psychological, and social aspects of disability, making it useful in rehabilitation and helping health and social care workers provide more comprehensive support.
Weaknesses of the Biopsychosocial Model
Combining health and social factors in defining disability may possibly downplay the medical needs of people with disabilities.
Economic Model
The economic model looks at disability through the economic impact on individuals, employers, and public systems. It recognizes that disability can affect a person’s ability to work, with ripple effects across income, support needs (such as care providers), and employment costs. For example, a person may earn less while facing higher expenses for necessary assistance, employers may incur additional costs, and governments may see increased spending on social support programs.
Strengths of the Economic Model
This model does well to recognize that bodily limitations impact work, an important and practical consideration.
Weaknesses of the Economic Model
This model can unintentionally reinforce stigma. When a group of people is legally defined as needing assistance, such as disability payments, they may be viewed as “needy” rather than as full participants in society, which closely links the economic model to the charity model. At the same time, many people whose disabilities significantly affect their ability to work do not meet strict legal definitions and are left without access to adequate support.
Functional Solutions Model
The functional solutions model is related to the social model of disability but takes a more practical, problem-solving approach. It focuses on identifying specific functional limitations and addressing them through technology, tools, or new methods. Compared to the social model, it places less emphasis on political or cultural factors and more on applying innovation to reduce everyday barriers.
Many businesses that develop accessibility products follow this model. They identify concrete challenges and design products or services to meet those needs, often at the level of the individual. For example, someone who cannot use their hands may use a device to turn pages, cut food, open doors, or pour a drink. The business case centers on recognizing access barriers and offering solutions to address them.
Accessibility professionals naturally engage with the functional solutions model. Their work involves solving specific access problems, whether or not they also consider the broader social or political context. In practice, addressing functional barriers is a core part of what accessibility work entails.
Strengths of the Functional Solutions Model
This model focuses on results that benefit people with disabilities. It takes a real-world approach to finding solutions that work, without getting hung up on theoretical or political questions. It instead puts energy into ideas, technologies, and innovations that improve the lives of people with disabilities. The emphasis in this model is on building accessible environments and on getting things done.
Weaknesses of the Functional Solutions Model
Even if a technology or solution is innovative, it isn’t always the most effective solution to broader accessibility problems, many of which stem from social or environmental barriers. If accessibility professionals are too focused on creating practical technological solutions, they may miss opportunities to address the larger social context. Sometimes addressing the larger social context works so well that it can make a specific technological solution obsolete.
Social Identity or Cultural Affiliation Model
People with disabilities may form a sense of identity by connecting with others who share similar experiences. Over time, these shared experiences can shape a sense of community and culture.
a woman uses sign language in front of a classroom
Deaf Culture and Identity
Social identity can be especially strong within Deaf communities that share a common language through sign. Sign languages are full, living languages, each with its own vocabulary and grammar, much like spoken languages. They vary by region and culture and include American Sign Language, British Sign Language, German Sign Language, Turkish Sign Language, Nepali Sign Language, among many others.
Because most hearing people do not speak any sign language, Deaf signers often spend time together, where they can communicate easily. Interacting with hearing people can require more effort or accommodation, which can make forming connections more challenging.
Deaf culture also finds expression through deaf theater productions opens in a new window, television, and other creative work, strengthening community bonds and shared identity.
Strengths of the Social Identity or Cultural Affiliation Model
Self-Acceptance and Empowerment
Fully accepting one’s disability can be important for emotional and psychological well-being, and having a supportive network of friends with disabilities, even if their experiences and disabilities differ, can be a meaningful source of personal strength.
Political Strength
a rights protest with a sign that says, “Rights for disabled people”
Beyond the personal level, people with disabilities can gain political strength by forming alliances and advocacy networks. It is easier to petition for political change as a group with a collective voice, rather than as individuals.
Weaknesses of the Social Identity or Cultural Affiliation Model
The social identity model isn’t always practical for technical definitions of disability, since people with different types of disabilities (or even those without disabilities) may identify with the same social group.
Strong connections among people with disabilities often arise from shared experiences in a society that may often treat them as outsiders.
Charity or Tragedy Model
The charity model treats disabilities as unfortunate or tragic conditions worthy of special treatment. People without disabilities take pity on those with disabilities and set up fundraisers, projects, assistance, and other interventions to improve the condition of those with disabilities.
a man drops money into a cup in front of a man missing an arm, sitting on the street
Many people with disabilities find this approach offensive, even if the end result produces something that helps people with disabilities. With this approach, the offensive part is the attitude and the assumptions. People without disabilities are in the position of the givers; the “fortunate” ones. People with disabilities are in the position of the receivers; the “unfortunate” ones. This kind of arrangement sets up an unequal power balance, and an unhealthy social relationship between groups of people.
A healthier approach is to recognize people with disabilities as people, not problems to be solved. Disability does not place someone below others or turn them into an object of charity. Equality grows out of shared humanity, not out of relationships defined by giver and receiver.
Stella Young’s TED talk “I’m Not Your Inspiration, Thank You Very Much” (9:09, shown below) highlights the frustration of being labeled “inspiring” simply for having a disability while doing everyday things.
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I grew up in a very small country town in Victoria. I had a very normal, low-key kind of upbringing. I went to school, I hung out with my friends, I fought with my younger sisters. It was all very normal. And when I was 15, a member of my local community approached my parents and wanted to nominate me for a community achievement award. And my parents said, “Hm, that’s really nice, but there’s kind of one glaring problem with that. She hasn’t actually achieved anything.” (Laughter)
And they were right, you know. I went to school, I got good marks, I had a very low-key after-school job in my mum’s hairdressing salon, and I spent a lot of time watching “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Dawson’s Creek.” Yeah, I know. What a contradiction. But they were right, you know. I wasn’t doing anything that was out of the ordinary at all. I wasn’t doing anything that could be considered an achievement if you took disability out of the equation. Years later, I was on my second teaching round in a Melbourne high school, and I was about 20 minutes into a year 11 legal studies class when this boy put up his hand and said, “Hey miss, when are you going to start doing your speech?” And I said, “What speech?” You know, I’d been talking them about defamation law for a good 20 minutes. And he said, “You know, like, your motivational speaking. You know, when people in wheelchairs come to school, they usually say, like, inspirational stuff?” (Laughter) “It’s usually in the big hall.”
And that’s when it dawned on me: This kid had only ever experienced disabled people as objects of inspiration. We are not, to this kid — and it’s not his fault, I mean, that’s true for many of us. For lots of us, disabled people are not our teachers or our doctors or our manicurists. We’re not real people. We are there to inspire. And in fact, I am sitting on this stage looking like I do in this wheelchair, and you are probably kind of expecting me to inspire you. Right? (Laughter) Yeah.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, I’m afraid I’m going to disappoint you dramatically. I am not here to inspire you. I am here to tell you that we have been lied to about disability. Yeah, we’ve been sold the lie that disability is a Bad Thing, capital B, capital T. It’s a bad thing, and to live with a disability makes you exceptional. It’s not a bad thing, and it doesn’t make you exceptional.
And in the past few years, we’ve been able to propagate this lie even further via social media. You may have seen images like this one: “The only disability in life is a bad attitude.” Or this one: “Your excuse is invalid.” Indeed. Or this one: “Before you quit, try!” These are just a couple of examples, but there are a lot of these images out there. You know, you might have seen the one, the little girl with no hands drawing a picture with a pencil held in her mouth. You might have seen a child running on carbon fiber prosthetic legs. And these images, there are lots of them out there, they are what we call inspiration porn. (Laughter) And I use the term porn deliberately, because they objectify one group of people for the benefit of another group of people. So in this case, we’re objectifying disabled people for the benefit of nondisabled people. The purpose of these images is to inspire you, to motivate you, so that we can look at them and think, “Well, however bad my life is, it could be worse. I could be that person.”
But what if you are that person? I’ve lost count of the number of times that I’ve been approached by strangers wanting to tell me that they think I’m brave or inspirational, and this was long before my work had any kind of public profile. They were just kind of congratulating me for managing to get up in the morning and remember my own name. (Laughter) And it is objectifying. These images, those images objectify disabled people for the benefit of nondisabled people. They are there so that you can look at them and think that things aren’t so bad for you, to put your worries into perspective.
And life as a disabled person is actually somewhat difficult. We do overcome some things. But the things that we’re overcoming are not the things that you think they are. They are not things to do with our bodies. I use the term “disabled people” quite deliberately, because I subscribe to what’s called the social model of disability, which tells us that we are more disabled by the society that we live in than by our bodies and our diagnoses.
So I have lived in this body a long time. I’m quite fond of it. It does the things that I need it to do, and I’ve learned to use it to the best of its capacity just as you have, and that’s the thing about those kids in those pictures as well. They’re not doing anything out of the ordinary. They are just using their bodies to the best of their capacity. So is it really fair to objectify them in the way that we do, to share those images? People, when they say, “You’re an inspiration,” they mean it as a compliment. And I know why it happens. It’s because of the lie, it’s because we’ve been sold this lie that disability makes you exceptional. And it honestly doesn’t.
And I know what you’re thinking. You know, I’m up here bagging out inspiration, and you’re thinking, “Jeez, Stella, aren’t you inspired sometimes by some things?” And the thing is, I am. I learn from other disabled people all the time. I’m learning not that I am luckier than them, though. I am learning that it’s a genius idea to use a pair of barbecue tongs to pick up things that you dropped. (Laughter) I’m learning that nifty trick where you can charge your mobile phone battery from your chair battery. Genius. We are learning from each other’s strength and endurance, not against our bodies and our diagnoses, but against a world that exceptionalizes and objectifies us.
I really think that this lie that we’ve been sold about disability is the greatest injustice. It makes life hard for us. And that quote, “The only disability in life is a bad attitude,” the reason that that’s bullshit is because it’s just not true, because of the social model of disability. No amount of smiling at a flight of stairs has ever made it turn into a ramp. Never. (Laughter) (Applause) Smiling at a television screen isn’t going to make closed captions appear for people who are deaf. No amount of standing in the middle of a bookshop and radiating a positive attitude is going to turn all those books into braille. It’s just not going to happen.
I really want to live in a world where disability is not the exception, but the norm. I want to live in a world where a 15-year-old girl sitting in her bedroom watching “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” isn’t referred to as achieving anything because she’s doing it sitting down. I want to live in a world where we don’t have such low expectations of disabled people that we are congratulated for getting out of bed and remembering our own names in the morning. I want to live in a world where we value genuine achievement for disabled people, and I want to live in a world where a kid in year 11 in a Melbourne high school is not one bit surprised that his new teacher is a wheelchair user.
Disability doesn’t make you exceptional, but questioning what you think you know about it does.
Thank you.
(Applause)
End of transcript.
Strengths of the Charity or Tragedy Model
This model can encourage empathy in people without disabilities and inspire them to genuinely assist people with disabilities.
Weaknesses of the Charity or Tragedy Model
As previously mentioned, this model encourages unequal social and political relationships between people, which can actually slow down progress for people with disabilities overall.
Other Models
Affirmation Model
The Affirmation Model of disability views disability as a natural part of human diversity rather than a flaw or misfortune. It focuses on pride, identity, and self-definition, emphasizing the right of people with disabilities to describe their own experiences and value their lives on their own terms.
Sociopolitical Model
The Sociopolitical Model of disability frames disability as something shaped largely by social, political, and economic systems rather than by individual bodies or minds alone. It focuses on how laws, policies, power, and access can either include or exclude people with disabilities, and argues that real change comes from collective action and structural reform, not individual adjustment.
Religious/Moral Model
The Religious or Moral Model of disability views disability as a result of moral failings, divine will, or spiritual lessons. In this perspective, disability is often seen as a punishment, a lesson, a test, or a reason for charity, framing the experience in moral or religious terms rather than social or medical ones.
Expert or Professional Model
The Expert or Professional Model of disability sees disability primarily as a medical or technical issue to be assessed and addressed by professionals. It emphasizes the role of doctors, therapists, and specialists in understanding and supporting the needs of individuals, often focusing more on clinical solutions than on social or personal aspects of disability.
Rehabilitation Model
The Rehabilitation Model of disability focuses on helping individuals develop skills and strategies to participate as fully as possible in daily life. It emphasizes support and guidance from professionals to assist people in navigating challenges, while often concentrating more on adaptation than on broader social or structural factors.