Models of Disability and Specific Needs: A Comprehensive Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the social and medical models of disability, focusing on their application in supporting individuals with specific needs, particularly within the context of the NHS. The report delves into the core principles of each model, highlighting how they shape perspectives on disability and influence care provision. It examines the factors that contribute to specific and complex needs, such as social exclusion, discrimination, and societal prejudice, and their impact on individuals. Furthermore, the report provides a historical overview of care provision, tracing the evolution of approaches to supporting individuals with disabilities. The analysis emphasizes the importance of understanding these models to ensure effective and inclusive care practices. This report is a valuable resource for understanding the complexities of disability and the diverse needs of individuals requiring support.

SUPPORTING INDIVIDUALS WITH
SPECIFIC NEEDS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
LO1..................................................................................................................................................3
P1 Describe the social and medical model of disability in relation to individuals with disability
.....................................................................................................................................................3
P2 Reviews the factor that can bring to specific and complex needs..........................................7
M1 Historical overview of care provision towards individuals’ specific needs..........................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Specific Needs refers as a disability of health in term of physical impairment i.e.
communication issue, auditory impairment, blindness etc. Such kind disability requires high
support in carrying out routine activities (Thompson, Tickle and Dillon, 2019). The person with
disabilities involves those people who have long-term, mental, physical, sensory impairments
which in interaction with numerous barriers may delay their whole life activities. In this report
will discuss about social and medical model of disability in relation to individuals with disability
that will be used by a health and social care organization i.e. NHS. Furthermore, it will highlight
different factors that can lead to specific and complex needs of individuals.
LO1
P1 Describe the social and medical model of disability in relation to individuals with disability
Perspective towards disability directly affects the way people think and make own
mindset towards disabled people. Such people also impact on outcomes for disabled people in
such way they treat and become able to participate in society. There are two specific models in
the form of disability which demonstrates that how disability is considered such as medical
model and social model.
Issue with models
Models are quite useful tool to support individuals think about and deeply discuss a topic.
But the major issue with models is that they can be more simplistic and makes things appear
clearer as compared they are. In reality, when most of the health and social care organization
works between social and medical model and try to integrate aspects of both models in such
manner that they can interact with disabled people then most of time they often get difficulty
because it is not mandatory that always only a situation takes place in this case.
Social model of disability
It is one of the most preferred models whenever thinking about disability as compared
others. This social model was sanctioned by the Government Equalities Office who suggested

the model for application by all different government departments in such a way they can
communicate with disabled people. However, it has been implemented by most of the disabled
people’s company and achieves success (Hebbeler and Spiker, 2016). It is quite surprising thing
to listen that this model was developed by disable people themselves and looks out at the barriers
that are erected by society in term of people with disability, who are being able to participate in
their day to day life activities. The main goal of the social model to remove all those factors
which prevent disabled people to participate in society, living independently and accessing work.
This model also highlights society perspectives towards disabled people which creates
unnecessary barriers to inclusion and influences healthcare and social care organizations to take
proactive action to remove these barriers promptly.
Figure 1 Introduction to the Social and Medical Models of Disability, 2020
Social model creates difference between disability and impairment such as impairment
refers as a long-term feature or characteristic which may not occur from an health condition or
injury which might affect a person’s functioning of their body or mind. The characteristic may
cause affect communications, fatigue, pain or interfere mental capacity. Social model always

supports a person who seeks for medical intervention to decrease the impact of their impairment
as much as possible. While disability means something from which a person experience. The
disability experienced is often caused by the approach that taken by society or individuals
wherein they fail to take account of people with impairments and their relate needs. This is the
major reason due to this people with disability becomes excluded from mainstream society
(Grigorenko and et.al., 2020). There are some great examples to understand the fact such as
people is not prevented from reading magazine, newspaper due to blindness, but because of the
absence of alternative formats. As same a person is not prevented to going to see and play
because they are wheelchair users rather then it is the absence of accessible transport caused by
disability and exclusion. Basically, this model is organized to support disabled person such as it
provides freedom to individual with disability to complete their all wishes and desires what they
want to achieve. It also provides social support in order to increase their life experience and
conducts different social activities for the disabled person. With the social model, organizations
or person-centred care enables to determine barriers which makes disabled people’s life harder.
However, this model is not only assisted to identify barriers but also helps in eradicate such
obstacles by developing equality and offering more independency, control and choice to the
disabled person.
Medical model of disability
Medical model emphasizes at a person’s impairment first then focuses on the reason behind the
impairment due to this disabled people being unable to participate in society. For example, if a
person is not able to read newspaper due to blindness that is a great example of people who being
promoted by the medical model of disability (Retief and Letšosa, 2018). The medical model of
disability demonstrates the disability as a ‘issue’ that relates to the disabled individual. It defines
disability as result of physical condition, which can be intrinsic to individual or which may can
reduce the individual’s quality of life and causes. This medical model motivates to believes that
curing or managing disability evolves across the determining the disability from a clinical
perspective. In addition, it also supports in fixing impairment and changes in disabled person by
providing medical care services i.e. care provision service, pharmaceutical services etc. In simple
word, medical model of disability supports health and social care companies to determine
disabled issue caused by person comes in disabled position. In the medical model offers care

provision for the individuals with disability such as personal care, nursing care and protection
which they require. When these people with disability gets proper pharmaceutical and care
compliances on time that ultimately improves their health.
Figure 2: Introduction to the Social and Medical Models of Disability, 2020
From the above discussion over the models can be analysed that medical and social models of
disability provides different perspectives and supports to cure disability of people and effectively
fulfil their needs so that they can freely participate in society. NHS is a complex system
organization that offers both type services to the individuals with specific needs i.e. social and
healthcare. NHS often uses both medical and social models in it’s organization to meet
individuals with specific needs. With the support of models, therapists and specialists of NHS
identify causes of impairment with the support of medical model of disability and provides
medical care to improve their health condition. On the other hand, volunteers and nurses of the
company practices social model to understand perspective of individuals with disability and
makes them in dependable to participate in society and encourages them to live their life
accordingly their rule and regulations. Thus, NHS treats individuals with disability in the
organization (Haegele and Hodge, 2016).

P2 Reviews the factor that can bring to specific and complex needs
Complex needs mean a person who has been diagnosed with an illness, sensory
impairment or disability and requires lots of additional support on routine basis, that are defined
as ‘complex needs. A person may have complex needs from the birth or after injury. In other
word, if people have complex needs means they needs high level of health services, welfare and
community-based service it means individuals are experiencing numerous combinations of
mental illness, physical disability, social isolation behavioural difficulties (Park and et.al., 2018).
There are various factors such as social exclusion, discrimination factors, stereotype and
prejudice etc. which can lead individuals with specific and complex needs. Most of the school
goer students or other people who have limited vocabulary to interact with people that denotes
they are specific needs children. But their family members avoid this and thinks that due to this
their children image can be negative in society. it indicates that these people have stereotype and
prejudice type thinking. When people unable to communicate with other people like others such
symptom are known as social exclusion which is find in most of the people with disability
weather, they are child or adult. There are various factors that are responsible for specific and
complex needs. The factors are mentioned below:
Social Exclusion
The person who unable to communicate with other people due to limited vocabulary of
mental impairment and people also unable to understand their speech because they speak
unclear. It denotes that are suffering from specific needs i.e. disability so they are unable to take
part in social activities. It highlights that such peoples are impacted by social exclusion factors.
Discrimination factors
The people with specific needs and complex needs have desires learn new skills like
dancing, travelling, become a god sport champion and wants to spend more time in their
creativity or what things which they love to do. But such people’s family, friends etc. do not
allow them to try something new as resulted that brings disability and other issues i.e. depression
so they avoid to co0mmunicate with their family members or clashes. It can illustrate that
disability and complex needs are reason of discrimination factor.
Stereotype and prejudice

Stereotype refers as a ‘Hippocratic Thinking’ on the other hand, prejudice can define as
those people who thinks disability as a ‘god punishment’ or ‘mad’. For example, most of the
time social care provision wants to support such people with disability and complex needs but
their parents reject to take offered services because they always suspicious about social service.
Even families of such people with specific or complex needs do not consider that their children
have any type of disability which directly indicates that these people are stereotype. While to be
suspicious about social service and prefers to give homecare only denotes that they keep
prejudice type thoughts. It is one of the major factors that leads specific and complex needs
(Frank, 2016).
M1 Historical overview of care provision towards individuals’ specific needs
The person who has physical, emotional and mental impairment that are described as
disability. However. Services of care provision is not change but meaning of disability changes
over the change accordingly care provision treatment. There are some stages which explains how
care provision services have changed over the period.
Early Era
In olden days, there was no treatment to cure disability due to lacking behind of the
knowledge. But most of the health care companies i.e. NHS that time provides social care
services to such people like teaching institution, provides safeguarding care who were used to
isolated by society.
Middle Era
In middle era, most of the doctors and researchers’ understanding improves about causes
of disability due to education approach. In other word, NHS’s employees specially, researchers,
doctors and specialists were started to find as issue which could cure through implications of
health and policy for individuals with specific needs. In the middle era, NHS started to provide
health and social care services to such people with specific needs with support of government
organizational bodies (Bottema-Beutel and et.al., 2020). Even, UK’s government imposed
various healthcare and social care policies to support such people with disability who used to
isolate by the society due to their impairment. There were various shelters centres available to

provide social support to the people with specific needs and aware society that it is not any
disease.
Current Era
In current era, disability is properly described in medical term that it is a cause by mental
retardation, physical impairment or Autism etc. Thus, different policies have amended by UK’s
government for providing high standard quality care to the people with specific needs. Standard
quality of care means formulary compliance and patient compliance that provides by health and
social care companies. Even Disability Act also has implemented by government across the
world to offer good care service to the people and no discrimination takes place with them in
working place. Currently NHS treats such people with disability by integrating both perspective
of social and medical model so that quality of care can offer them which leads profitable
outcomes in their health condition.
Thus, care of provision has been changed gradually over the period and increases care
centres, level of care and formulary services to support disabled people in effective manner.
CONCLUSION
This report has been summarized about different factors like discrimination factor, social
exclusion factor, stereotype and prejudice factors that leads specific and complex needs.
Furthermore, this report has been concluded historical perspective of care provision towards
individuals with specific needs with the support of great example of NHS which have been led
advanced change in care provision. In last the brief study provided understanding about social
and medical models of disability that are implemented by NHS in practices to treat and cure
individuals with specific needs.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Thompson, B., Tickle, A. and Dillon, G., 2019. Discovery awareness for staff supporting
individuals with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviour: is it helpful and
does it increase self-efficacy?. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities,
pp.1-14.
Hebbeler, K. and Spiker, D., 2016. Supporting young children with disabilities. The future of
children, pp.185-205.
Grigorenko, E.L and et.al., 2020. Understanding, educating, and supporting children with
specific learning disabilities: 50 years of science and practice. American
Psychologist, 75(1), p.37.
Retief, M. and Letšosa, R., 2018. Models of disability: A brief overview. HTS Teologiese
Studies/Theological Studies, 74(1).
Haegele, J.A. and Hodge, S., 2016. Disability discourse: Overview and critiques of the medical
and social models. Quest, 68(2), pp.193-206.
Park, M and et.al., 2018. Patient-and family-centered care interventions for improving the quality
of health care: a review of systematic reviews. International journal of nursing
studies, 87, pp.69-83.
Frank, A., 2016, September. Vocational rehabilitation: supporting ill or disabled individuals in
(to) work: a UK perspective. In Healthcare (Vol. 4, No. 3, p. 46). Multidisciplinary
Digital Publishing Institute.
Bottema-Beutel, K and et.al., 2020. Avoiding ableist language: Suggestions for autism
researchers. Autism in Adulthood.
Online
Introduction to the Social and Medical Models of Disability. 2020. [Online]. Available
Through:- <https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/sites/default/files/FDN-
218144_Introduction_to_the_Social_and_Medical_Models_of_Disability.pdf>