ABSTRACT
The Medical Model of disability is basically the common-sense view. On the Medical Model, we should think of disability as something similar to a disease. It is a physical condition that is inherently undesirable or, at best, a serious burden. The opposing view of disability is known as the Social Model and was developed primarily by people with disability. Proponents of the Social Model agree that disabled people are impaired in the sense of deviating from the normal species functioning of humans. According to the Welfarist Model, disabilities are not inherently negative conditions – they are only harmful through their effects in specific environments. One important feature of the Welfarist Model is that it sees disability as highly context dependent. Another feature of the Welfarist Model is that disability becomes a matter of degree – and so common. People sometimes associate disability with visible and overt features of people’s bodies, or with very severe mental limitations.
