Understanding Childhood Disability: Application of Key Models

This essay provides a detailed analysis of the social and medical models of disability in childhood, using the case of a 14-year-old girl with Asperger syndrome to illustrate the practical implications of each model. The social model emphasizes societal barriers and attitudes that disable individuals, while the medical model focuses on treatment and intervention to cure impairments. The essay explores the advantages and disadvantages of both models, highlighting how the social model identifies discrimination and promotes mental health, but may overlook physical realities. Conversely, the medical model can lead to a focus on impairment rather than individual needs. The essay concludes by demonstrating how each model can be applied to understand the challenges faced by disabled children, such as social isolation and difficulty in social interactions, and how these models inform strategies for support and inclusion.

DISABILITY IN CHILDHOOD

TABLE OF CONTENTS
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................4

SOCIAL MODEL OF DISABILITY
Social model of disability states about the way of viewing the world by disabled people
or it clarify that people are disabled by barriers in society not by their differences. Such as
physical and attitude barriers of people to difference among one individual in terms of another
that lead making life of disabled person harder. In another words, the disability is among
individuals because of physical structure and mental attitude of people living in the society rather
than medical condition face by individuals (Guevara, 2021). Negative attitude of people that
disabled people cannot work, live independently and have child results in making them disable
or reduce their overall confidence level.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF SOCIAL MODEL OF DISABILITY
It ensures both physical and mental health through identifying possible barriers and
finding out strategies to overcome them in effective manner. Helps in determining the
discrimination face by people that lead to emotional or physical harm to the disable person
(Barnes, 2019). On the other hand, there are some of the disadvantages of social model of
disability such as” It does not explain the non-existence of physical, diseases and mental
impairment and illness. Secondly, this is model that run threat of excessive breadth and to
incorporate all life.
IMPLICATION OF MODEL IN THE PRACTICE
The model can be easily applied to the case of Katie that is around 14-year-old and has been
suffering from Asperger syndrome. It finds difficult to read the facial expression of people, voice
of tome and the way in which they respond. So, the people have made mindset that Katie is not
able to judge themselves such as there are some of its friends that bully her but she believed that
they are its friends (Riddle, 2020). This has also resulted in creating a feeling of isolation and
lack of friend of Katie. She easily trusts and believe on others that results in negative impact on
its health and well-being.
THE MANNER IN WHICH MODEL HELPS IN UNDERSTANDING
DISADVANTAGES FACE BY DISABLED PEOPLE
Social model has helped in understanding the disadvantages face by people through finding
out reason or the attitude of people that has make Katie disable. Such as Katie has been chatting
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on Facebook to an old man of 50 years around but she believes that it is girl. She easily trusts
people and their words, so she sends her images, then the person started threatening her, all this
Sue noticed and take action for betterment of Katie (Gieben-Gamal and Matos, 2017). So, the
society has created the assumption that she would remain lonely or in isolation whereas Sue has
planned a new and fresh start for Katie.
MEDICAL MODEL OF DISABILITY
The medical model of disability mainly focusses on treatment and intervention that are used
by individual in order to cure particular disable person through making use of medicine. It may
reduce the individual’s quality of life and the cause clear disadvantages to individuals (Roush,
2017). Therefore, it helps in understand their impairment and the manner in which they are being
exclude from mainstream society.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF MEDICAL MODEL OF DISABILITY
The advantage of medical model of disability is that: It helps in understanding that people are
disabled by their impairments or differences. Secondly, it looks on what is 'wrong' with the
person, not what the person needs therefore contribute in providing complete insight related to
the cause of particular condition (Retief and Letšosa, 2018). While the disadvantage is that
Impairment is see as most important part of person and suggest there is helpless to do anything
about this. Moreover, it only suggests particular problems that mean a person cannot be equal.
IMPLICATION OF MODEL IN THE PRACTICE
The medical model of disability can be applied in context of Katie such as she feels
anxious in big social gathering and she wants to have friend but find difficult to initiative
conversation with them (Haslett and Smith, 2020). So, the staffs need to provide appropriate
support, develop understanding and goof relationship with the Katie with an motivate that all
thing become smooth again.
THE MANNER IN WHICH MODEL HELPS IN UNDERSTANDING
DISADVANTAGES FACE BY DISABLED PEOPLE
The medical model of disability has effectively helped in understanding the several
disadvantages that are faced by disable people likewise Katie in the above case study. Likewise,
it through focusing that Katie has issue of reading facial expression and tone of voice of people
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and the manner in which they respond (Dirth and Branscombe, 2017). Are all information that
helps in effective understanding the issue face by Katie.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Barnes, C., 2019. Understanding the social model of disability: Past, present and future.
In Routledge handbook of disability studies (pp. 14-31). Routledge.
Dirth, T.P. and Branscombe, N.R., 2017. Disability models affect disability policy support
through awareness of structural discrimination. Journal of Social Issues, 73(2), pp.413-
442.
Gieben-Gamal, E. and Matos, S., 2017. Design and disability. developing new opportunities for
the design curriculum. The Design Journal, 20(sup1), pp.S2022-S2032.
Guevara, A., 2021. The Need to Reimagine Disability Rights Law Because the Medical Model of
Disability Fails Us All. Wis. L. Rev., p.269.
Haslett, D. and Smith, B., 2020. Viewpoints toward disability: Conceptualizing disability in
adapted physical education. In Routledge handbook of adapted physical education (pp.
48-64). Routledge.
Retief, M. and Letšosa, R., 2018. Models of disability: A brief overview. HTS Teologiese
Studies/Theological Studies, 74(1).
Riddle, C. A., 2020. Why we do not need a ‘stronger’social model of disability. Disability &
Society, 35(9). pp.1509-1513.
Roush, S.E., 2017. Consideration of Disability from the Perspective of the Medical Model.
In Bioarchaeology of impairment and disability (pp. 39-55). Springer, Cham.
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