What is disability? concepts and definitions
What is disability?
Disability is an evolving concept. In recent decades there has been a shift from an individualised, medical view of disability to a social model of disability. The medical model of disability emphasised the anatomical, physiological and psychological abnormalities in the individual, and the ways in which medical knowledge could be used in response to these abnormalities. In contrast the social model of disability places greater emphasis on the way that an individual is disabled by society, for example through inaccessible physical environments or exclusion due to attitudinal barriers.
The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) (2001) adopts a position of compromise between the medical and social model. Recognising that a person with disabilities may experience problems which arise both from their health condition and from the social and physical environment, the ICF promotes a “bio-psycho-social model”. In this model, disability is an umbrella term which includes impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions. The relationship between the three is mediated by environmental factors, and it is this interaction that results in disability. This means that the level of disability an individual with an impairment faces may be heightened or lessened by contextual factors.
You may also see the term “handicap” used in the literature about disability. In previous World Health Organisation definitions of disability, handicap referred to a disadvantage for an individual which arises because of an impairment or disability, and prevents the fulfilment of normal social roles (dependent on age, sex, cultural factors, etc.). However this term and definition have been excluded from the ICF and following this will not be considered further in this session.