ABSTRACT
This chapter presents contrasting approaches to understanding disability, drawing on the adult literature to reflect on childhood and the implications of these models for the ways in which education systems respond. Disability is self-disclosed, and not a result of a professional decision to label. The Social model was adopted by the Disability Rights Commission, set up in 2000, and underpins the government paper on Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People published in 2005. One frequent criticism of the social model lies with the limited way in which it has been used to explain the ways in which societal barriers lead to disability. S. M. Reindal makes a helpful distinction, in setting out his adoption of a social relational model, helping us to understand the differences with a biopsychosocial approach. The biopsychosocial response of the World Health Organization was to emphasize the universality of disability yet without undermining the place of the individual.
