Negative

The medical model (1)

• insists that people with disability’s have a problem of some kind and cannot lead a normal life like non disabled people

• The person with the medical problem needs to be cured, idea constructed by the media of medical professionals

• Shaped by their physical or mental impairments

The medical model (2)

• this view of the identity of people with disabilities leads to them seeing theur situation as tragic (seen as deserving of non-disabled individuals pity and charity)

• Leads to the defining of a disabled person by their disability or impairment

• The problem is that this leads to a victim blaming mentality, where the problem lies with the disabled individual rather than with a society that has not met their needs

The medical model (3) statistics

67% of the British public admit to feeling uncomfortable talking to disabled people

Sociologist Zola (1)

• a sociologist ho is disabled through polio suggested that the vocabulary we use is borrowed from a discriminatory able bodied society

“We are de-formed, dis-eased dis-abled…. And most telling of all, called in-valid”

Sociologist Zola (2)

• could lead to a form of ‘learned helplessness’ a psychology concept that describes the way that some disabled people may internalise the idea that they are incapable of changing a situation (which does not help themselves)

• Low self esteem and a highly structured life are often made for disabled people can contribute to learned helplessness

• It has been argued that policies such as segragted schooling encourages ‘learned helplessness’ even if the intentions where positive.

Master status (1)

Hughes defined the master status that is dominant and overshadows and individuals other traits

• the label ‘disabled’ carries a stigma that affects all interactions between the disabled person and others creating a ‘master status’

• This means that it transcends all other aspects of identity and becomes a defining characteristic by which the individual is judged

Master status (2)

• argues that prejudice and discrimination can have a significant effect on the identity and self esteem of disabled people.

• It can result in the ‘disabled identity; becoming the master status in the eyes of both able bodied and disabled.

• A self fulfilling prophecy can result; the disabled internalise and start to believe negative labels

• Leads us to question is the problem the person of societies lack of inclusivity.