[2] Disability models, ICF and critical theories

What does the charity model emphasise?

Pity, dependency and treating disability as a personal tragedy.

What does the medical model emphasise?

Impairment as an individual problem to diagnose, treat or cure.

What does the social model emphasise?

Barriers in society that restrict participation and inclusion.

What is dignity of risk?

The right to make informed choices, including choices involving reasonable risk.

What is inspiration porn?

Portraying disabled people as inspirational mainly because they live ordinary lives.

What does ICF stand for?

International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health.

What does the ICF examine beyond a diagnosis?

Body functions and structures, activity, participation and contextual factors.

What is an environmental factor in the ICF?

A physical, social or attitudinal feature that helps or hinders participation.

What is a personal factor in the ICF?

An individual characteristic such as age, identity or coping style.

What is ableism?

Assumptions and systems that privilege non-disabled ways of functioning.

Why is criticising the charity model not the same as opposing kindness?

The critique targets pity and unequal power, not generosity itself.

Medical vs social model: where is the main problem located?

Medical: the individual. Social: disabling barriers and arrangements.

Why is the ICF described as biopsychosocial?

It considers bodily, personal and social-environmental influences together.

ICF: how do capacity and performance differ?

Capacity concerns ability in a standard setting; performance concerns actual daily context.

What is one limitation of using ICF codes in the NDIS?

Classification can oversimplify lived experience or individual support needs.

Cultural vs critical disability theory: key difference?

Cultural studies meanings and representations; critical examines power and oppression.

What does embodiment mean in disability studies?

Bodies, lived experiences and social treatment are inseparable from identity.

Boss: A charity ad uses a wheelchair user only to evoke pity. Which model is operating?

The charity model; it casts the person as a dependent recipient.

Boss: A service forces everyone into a supposedly normal role. What is the concern?

Social role valorisation can risk reinforcing narrow norms of valued lives.

Boss: An activist reclaims the word crip. What idea is being challenged?

Ableist assumptions about normality, identity and who defines disability.