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Disability Models:

• Medical - It sees disabled people as the problem and it asks for the impairment in order to label the person with that particular impairment.

• Social - The disability actually exists through the barriers set by the society itself and the way it is organised (i.e. discrimination towards disabled people, exclusion of them from involvement and participation).

• Administrative - It is related with specific areas of life such as education or employment and are used in order to evaluate whether people are eligible for certain benefits or compensations.

• Charity - It emphasizes the personal tragedy of disability, thus creating a damaging stereotype and various misconceptions.

• Moral - Disability is taken into account as a sin.

• Rehabilitation - Disability needs to get fixed by a professional.

• Disability - All the various barriers met in the society as a whole and generally among people themselves (i.e. inadequate support, attitudinal, architectural, sensory, cognitive, economic).

References:

Kaplan, D. (2000) 'The definition of disability: perspective of the disability community', Journal of Health Care Law & Policy, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 352-64; also available online at http://libezproxy.open.ac.uk/ login?url=http://heinonline.org/ HOL/ Page?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/ hclwpo3&id=362 (accessed 08 September 2010).

Seale, J. (2006) E-Learning and Disability in Higher Education: Accessibility Research and Practice, Abingdon, Routledge; also available online at http://libezproxy.open.ac.uk/ login?url=http://lib.myilibrary.com?id=52212 (accessed 08 September 2010).