Participation & Society

Disability (Equality Act 2010)

A person has a disability if they have a physical/mental impairment and the impairment has a substantial, long term, adverse effect on their ability to carry out day to day activities

Physical impairment

e.g. visual, hearing, mobility, cancer, degenerative diseases

Mental impairment

e.g. mental illness, learning disability, learning difficulty e.g. dyslexia

Substantial

significant effect on day to day life (can be subjective- important to focus on the client's perspective)

Long term

last for at least 12 months

Day to day activities

normal activities carried out by most people on a regular basis, includes mobility, speech, hearing, memory and ability to concentrate, learn or understand

The medical model of disability

draws on traditional views, suggests disability arises due to an impairment, views the body as faulty, suggests removing the impairment = removal of the disability, implies a notion of normality/abnormality

Limitations of the medical model

doesn't allow for individuals to experience impact of impairments in different ways, focus on deficit rather than strength, assumes impairments can be cured/remedied, we can't assume everyone would want a cure

The social model of disability

proposes society needs to be rehabilitated not the individual, locates problems of disability within society rather than within individuals who have impairments, is not concerned with linking disability to a medical cause

Limitations of social model

can deny impairments can be a problem, attitudes could change but pain persist, may not be the viewpoint of all people with disabilities, society is constantly changing, social solutions need to be flexible

Neurodiversity

social model, accepts variation in neurocognitive functioning and values this, recognised as a difference (natural variation) which can be a disability because society is predominantly designed for neurotypicality

Ableism

discrimination/prejudice against disabled people which can present in a variety of forms eg. stereotypes, attitudes, behaviours and can often be unintentional/unconscious

Biopscyhosocial model

based on an argument that psychological and social factors influence biological functioning and play a role in health and illness Engel (1977)

ICF (International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health framework)

aligns with biopsychosocial model, based on integration of the social and medical models of disability, focuses on impact rather than cause, accounts for the complexity of health and disability for individuals, considers personal and environmental factors

Body functions and structure

physiological functions of body systems and the anatomical parts of the body such as organs, limbs and their components

Activity

the execution of a task or an action by an individual, activity limitations : difficulties an individual may have in executing activities

Participation

involvement in a life situation, restrictions : problems an individual may experience in involvement in life situations

Environmental factors

the physical, social and attitudinal environment in which people live and conduct their lives

Personal factors

particular features of an individual and their life that are not part of a health condition eg. gender, age, race, coping style, past experience etc.

The value of the ICF at an individual level

assessment, treatment planning, evaluation of treatment, communication among professionals

The value of the ICF at an institutional level

education and training, resource planning and development, quality improvement

The value of the ICF at a social level

policy development, needs assessment, environmental assessments

Ecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner)

believed a person's development was affected by everything in their environment, divided environment into 5 levels: microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, chronosystem

microsystem

system closest to the person, direct contact eg. home, school, bidirectional relationships, most influential level

mesosystem

interactions between different parts of a microsystem, interactions have an indirect effect on the individual, eg. interactions between parents and teachers

exosystem

a setting that does not involve the person as an active participant but still effects them eg. parent gains a promotion at work

macrosystem

the cultural environment in which the person lives and all other systems that affect them eg. economy, cultural value

chronosystem

the dimension of time in relation to a person's development eg. events at specific times of life eg. technology in learning development

Influence of parenting

‘growth facilitating parenting’ and ‘positive proactive parenting’ have positive impacts on child development (Belsky, 2008)

Pre school years: family are the main influence and quality of care influences much of future development (Sroufe, 2002)

3 parenting style factors have shown long term impact on children’s well being (1946 birth cohort study, Huppert, 2010): care, non engagement, control

Looked After Children

-educationally disadvantaged

-less likely to complete primary and secondary education

-more likely to be absent and experience exclusion