What is the difference between the medical model and the social model of disability?

What is the difference between the medical model and the social model of disability?

• A. Disability is a defect within the individual.
• B. Disability arises from social barriers and lack of accommodation.
• C. Disability is caused by supernatural forces.
• D. Disability is purely a medical issue.

Answer: (B)

Disability can be understood as something created by how society is organized, not just something that exists inside a person. The social model says barriers in the environment—things like stairs without ramps, information only in inaccessible formats, or attitudes that exclude people with impairments—are what disable someone in practice. When those barriers are removed through accessible design, inclusive policies, and supportive services, participation and independence improve, even if the impairment itself hasn’t changed. By contrast, the medical model treats disability as a defect or problem located in the individual that needs to be fixed, treated, or rehabilitated. It focuses on the impairment itself rather than the surrounding context. The other options reflect the medical view or ideas outside these frameworks (such as supernatural explanations), which don’t capture the social model’s emphasis on removing environmental and societal barriers.

Disability can be understood as something created by how society is organized, not just something that exists inside a person. The social model says barriers in the environment—things like stairs without ramps, information only in inaccessible formats, or attitudes that exclude people with impairments—are what disable someone in practice. When those barriers are removed through accessible design, inclusive policies, and supportive services, participation and independence improve, even if the impairment itself hasn’t changed.

By contrast, the medical model treats disability as a defect or problem located in the individual that needs to be fixed, treated, or rehabilitated. It focuses on the impairment itself rather than the surrounding context.

The other options reflect the medical view or ideas outside these frameworks (such as supernatural explanations), which don’t capture the social model’s emphasis on removing environmental and societal barriers.