Current Disability Employment and Benefits News Articles

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Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)

Prescription-drug use an issue for employers – Seattle Times
Oct 25, 2010 05:13 GMT
New York Times Prescription-drug use an issue for employers Seattle Times Also, some employers fear violating the Americans with Disabilities Act ( ADA ). The law prohibits asking about prescription drugs unless workers are seen … Drug Testing Poses Quandary for Employers New York Times all 4 new..

Community service directory – News Virginian
Oct 24, 2010 16:52 GMT
Community service directory News Virginian Americans with Disabilities Act , Waynesboro, provides ombudsman, consultant services and resources: Rob Wade, ADA coordinator for the city of Waynesboro, … and more »

Lane closures scheduled this week in Cheltenham Township – Montgomery Newspapers
Oct 24, 2010 16:21 GMT
Lane closures scheduled this week in Cheltenham Township Montgomery Newspapers Crews will install new Americans With Disabilities Act -compliant curb ramps at the following locations, with daily lane restrictions from 9 am to 3 pm, … and more »

Advocates sue California over mental health cutoff – San Jose Mercury News
Oct 23, 2010 14:46 GMT
Advocates sue California over mental health cutoff San Jose Mercury News The lawsuit alleges the state violated the Individuals with Disabilities Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act by cutting off the program known as “AB … and more »

Arts workshop designed to help those working with those with disabilities – LubbockOnline.com
Oct 22, 2010 18:21 GMT
Arts workshop designed to help those working with those with disabilities LubbockOnline.com Those attending will learn more about the revised Americans with Disabilities Act ( ADA ), which goes into effect in March 2011. and more »

Poll: Do you support accessibility options for your organization? – TechRepublic (blog)
Oct 22, 2010 15:12 GMT
Poll: Do you support accessibility options for your organization? TechRepublic (blog) In the United States, The Americans with Disabilities Act ( ADA ) prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, transportation, … Employment of People with Disabilities Improving, but ..

NorShor Theatre Closed Until 2011 – Or Later – FOX 21 Online
Oct 22, 2010 02:19 GMT
NorShor Theatre Closed Until 2011 – Or Later FOX 21 Online … Duluth-owned NorShor Theatre closed its doors one month ago to get up to code with standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act ( ADA ). … and more »

Restoring the Promise – The Impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act – The Fort Gordon Signal
Oct 21, 2010 17:29 GMT
Restoring the Promise – The Impact of the Americans with Disabilities Act The Fort Gordon Signal When the original bill was passed, the ADA was a landmark civil rights bill. It was intended to protect individuals who were discriminated against on the … and more »

ADA push proceeds
Oct 21, 2010 14:47 GMT
JONESBORO — It has been a few years since the City of Jonesboro completed court-ordered improvements to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Making sure city-owned buildings are ADA compliant – KAIT
Oct 21, 2010 03:36 GMT
Making sure city-owned buildings are ADA compliant KAIT … Public Safety Commission, Chief Building Official Terry Adams was named Americans with Disabilities Act , or ADA coordinator and compliance officer. … and more »

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Employment of People with Disabilities

Severely disabled to be helped into work
Oct 25, 2010 05:25 GMT
More than twenty thousand people with severe disabilities are to be helped to find work each year following the launch of a new programme.

Severely disabled to be helped into work – Telegraph.co.uk
Oct 25, 2010 05:01 GMT
Severely disabled to be helped into work Telegraph.co.uk More than twenty thousand people with severe disabilities are to be helped to find work each year following the launch of a new programme. …

Free Help For Jobless Living With Disabilities – KETV Omaha
Oct 25, 2010 02:22 GMT
Free Help For Jobless Living With Disabilities KETV Omaha It’s an agency run by Nebraska’s Department of Education, helping more than 1800 people find meaningful employment last year. “I think some people in my … and more »

Free Help For Jobless Living With Disabilities
Oct 25, 2010 02:20 GMT
A Nebraska agency quietly works to train and find employment for individuals living with disabilities.

Call to hire special needs people in workforce – GulfNews
Oct 24, 2010 19:04 GMT
Call to hire special needs people in workforce GulfNews Several companies shared their experience of hiring people with disabilities at the session, which also addressed the challenges faced by disabilities in … and more »

Community service directory – News Virginian
Oct 24, 2010 16:52 GMT
Community service directory News Virginian Career Support Systems Inc.; provider of supported employment (job placement and related support services for people with disabilities ); contact: Anita … and more »

CDA held an induction meeting with human resource managers on employment for people with disabilities
Oct 24, 2010 10:28 GMT
Dubai, 24 October, 2010: The Community Development Authority (CDA) held an induction meeting on the rights of people with disabilities to enable them to get jobs that are suited to their abilities and qualifications in different business sectors.

People with disabilities face transition
Oct 24, 2010 05:08 GMT
FROM STAFF REPORTS The Fredericksburg Transition Coalition will host “Pathways to the Future,” a transition fair for youths and young adults with disabilities who are exiting high school, on Saturday, Nov. 13….

Workers with disabilities achieve work force inroads
Oct 24, 2010 05:01 GMT
“I’d do just about anything for her,” Bobby Hill said, taking a break from opening boxes and referring to his boss.

COMMUNITY COMMENT: Public can help disabled obtain work – Evansville Courier & Press
Oct 23, 2010 05:05 GMT
COMMUNITY COMMENT: Public can help disabled obtain work Evansville Courier & Press October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, themed “Talent has no boundaries: Workforce diversity includes people with disabilities . … SENET To Participate in Disabilities Awareness Fair PRLog.Org (..

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Medicaid and Medicare Benefits

THE SAVINGS GAME: Being healthy is no excuse to skip Medicare drug benefit
Oct 25, 2010 05:22 GMT
Thank you for your concern, readers, and rest assured: I will enroll in a Medicare prescription drug plan.

Speak Out 10/25/10 – Southeast Missourian
Oct 25, 2010 05:15 GMT
Speak Out 10/25/10 Southeast Missourian The only way to do this is to cut federal programs like Social Security, Medicare , Medicaid , food stamps, funding to schools and unemployment benefits . … and more »

Some elderly patients can’t get whooping cough vaccine – Los Angeles Times
Oct 25, 2010 04:17 GMT
Some elderly patients can’t get whooping cough vaccine Los Angeles Times … also known as pertussis, according to the California Department of Public Health and the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. … and more »

Political Polygraph: Republican Senatorial Committee television ad – Denver Post
Oct 24, 2010 19:31 GMT
Political Polygraph: Republican Senatorial Committee television ad Denver Post Bennet, that Medicare benefits cannot be reduced for seniors and that savings in the program need to be applied to improve extending the life of the … and more »

Candidates address seniors’ concerns – WatertownDailyTimes.com
Oct 24, 2010 09:59 GMT
Candidates address seniors’ concerns WatertownDailyTimes.com There are more than 19000 Medicare Advantage recipients in the 23rd District, according to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. … and more »

Allsup Medicare Advisor® Now Provides Three Options for Customized Medicare Help – from Part D through …
Oct 24, 2010 08:14 GMT
Allsup Medicare Advisor® Now Provides Three Options for Customized Medicare Help – from Part D through Supplemental Coverage Seniors and people with disabilities have more options from personalized Medicare plan selection service to objectively evaluate Medicare options, choose the plan best for the..

Is it true? – phillyBurbs.com
Oct 24, 2010 06:41 GMT
Is it true? phillyBurbs.com For seniors, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees Medicare and Medicaid , for example, has announced on average, Medicare Advantage … Virginians scramble to find alternative to Medicare Advantage The Virginian-Pilot all 4 news articles &r..

Q&A: Charles Grassley, Republican, US Senate – Quad City Times
Oct 24, 2010 05:27 GMT
Q&A: Charles Grassley, Republican, US Senate Quad City Times … future beneficiaries by guaranteeing a level of benefits . 7. What, if any, changes would you make to Medicare and Medicaid to slow their rate of growth? … Q&A: Roxanne Conlin, Democrat, US Senate Quad City Times all 3 news articles..

St. Mary’s named best large hospital – Online Athens
Oct 24, 2010 04:29 GMT
St. Mary’s named best large hospital Online Athens The honor roll is based on clinical data provided by the federal Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services, which administers the nation’s Medicare and … and more »

Virginians scramble to find alternative to Medicare Advantage – The Virginian-Pilot
Oct 24, 2010 02:01 GMT
Virginians scramble to find alternative to Medicare Advantage The Virginian-Pilot Through such plans, the government pays private insurers to manage the medical benefits of Medicare beneficiaries. Medicare , for seniors and people with … and more »

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Social Security Benefits

Edward Lotterman: Social Security remains a good deal for many
Oct 25, 2010 05:31 GMT
Cost-of-living increases for Social Security had become so routine over the past several decades that it set off outrage when news spread that for the second year in a row, there would be no increase in January. Now Congress is considering $250 payments to Social Security recipients. http://www.Idah..

Our seniors deserve better – The Tribune-Democrat
Oct 25, 2010 05:07 GMT
CBS News Our seniors deserve better The Tribune-Democrat — We understand the frustrations of those who for a second consecutive year will not be seeing their Social Security checks increase because the inflation … Social Security : Republican Plans Faulty Says Joint Economic Committee US Money Ta..

Chet Edwards and Bill Flores face off in a debate – KXXV News Channel 25
Oct 25, 2010 04:31 GMT
Reuters Chet Edwards and Bill Flores face off in a debate KXXV News Channel 25 The two sides touched on everything from President Obama’s health care plan, to Social Security , to securing the borders. This has been a campaign that both … Chet Edwards and Bill Flores spar in TV debate Dallas ..

A Lubbock woman is indicted for social security fraud – KCBD-TV
Oct 25, 2010 03:05 GMT
A Lubbock woman is indicted for social security fraud KCBD-TV Entertainment News from AP By James Clark | email LUBBOCK, TX (KCBD) – A Lubbock woman is indicted for social security fraud. The indictment says Theresa … and more »

Free Help For Jobless Living With Disabilities – KETV Omaha
Oct 25, 2010 02:22 GMT
Free Help For Jobless Living With Disabilities KETV Omaha Many clients come to the agency receiving monthly checks from Social Security Disability . They want to work but are concerned about how their benefits might … and more »

Two Speeches Obama Should Give — and Probably Won’t – Huffington Post (blog)
Oct 25, 2010 02:01 GMT
Two Speeches Obama Should Give — and Probably Won’t Huffington Post (blog) One concerns Social Security , the other the incipient Banking Crisis II. My fellow Americans, Social Security is one of the bedrock programs that Democrats … Debates show sharp contrast News & Observer all 2 news art..

Social Security Strategies and Roth IRA Conversions: Wall Street Journal Advice – Wall Street Journal
Oct 24, 2010 20:55 GMT
The Money Times Social Security Strategies and Roth IRA Conversions: Wall Street Journal Advice Wall Street Journal My husband began collecting his Social Security benefits at full retirement age in 1990. He is now 84 years old, and his monthly net Social … Social Security Program: Ways to Maximi..

Election Time Raises Social Security Rhetoric
Oct 22, 2010 17:30 GMT
Overheated Campaign Talk Makes Compromise Less Likely After the Voting Is Over

KELLY v. COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY – Leagle.com
Oct 22, 2010 11:45 GMT
KELLY v. COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SECURITY Leagle.com Debbie D. Kelly appeals the district court’s order affirming the Social Security Commissioner’s denial of her application for disability benefits and … NORTON v. ASTRUE Leagle.com all 2 news articles »

Campaign rhetoric muddies Social Security reform
Oct 22, 2010 08:14 GMT
For 75 years, seniors have loved their Social Security benefits and for almost that long, politicians have loved to warn them that the other party would take those benefits away. This election year is hardly an exception.

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Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

Legislature may cut deep to meet $25 billion budget gap
Oct 25, 2010 06:14 GMT
AUSTIN — Texas faces a budget crisis of truly daunting proportions, with lawmakers likely to cut sacrosanct programs such as education for the first time in memory and to lay off hundreds if not thousands of state workers and public university employees.

Legislature likely to cut deep to meet possible $25 billion budget gap
Oct 25, 2010 05:59 GMT
Texas lawmakers are likely to cut programs such as education for the first time in memory and to lay off hundreds if not thousands of state workers and public university employees.

New options for TANF, child support clients – Fredericksburg.com (blog)
Oct 24, 2010 22:06 GMT
Fredericksburg.com (blog) New options for TANF, child support clients Fredericksburg.com (blog) Customers who receive child support payments and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) via EPPICard™ will use a new ATM network for their …

How bad is the budget crunch? – Dallas Morning News
Oct 24, 2010 07:28 GMT
How bad is the budget crunch? Dallas Morning News Eliminate all grants for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families to save $131 million. But after all that, you’d have saved just $12.2 billion, … and more »

Medicaid enrollment and re-enrollment – Chicago Tribune (blog)
Oct 21, 2010 22:25 GMT
Medicaid enrollment and re-enrollment Chicago Tribune (blog) Medical eligibility for children in cases receiving SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) or TANF ( Temporary Assistance for Needy Families ) cash …

Recession Ebbs, but Misery Piles on for Families in Poverty – In These Times
Oct 20, 2010 14:59 GMT
Recession Ebbs, but Misery Piles on for Families in Poverty In These Times The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits have been steadily losing value in recent …

Changes to EPPICard for Families in VA
Oct 19, 2010 18:44 GMT
Customers who receive child support payments and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families via EPPICard™ will use a new ATM network for their financial transactions.

Changes to EPPICard for Families in VA – WHSV
Oct 19, 2010 18:35 GMT
Changes to EPPICard for Families in VA WHSV Customers who receive child support payments and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families via EPPICard™ will use a new ATM network for their financial …

In Campbell County, Social Services need rises as staff shrinks – GoDanRiver.com
Oct 18, 2010 23:24 GMT
In Campbell County, Social Services need rises as staff shrinks GoDanRiver.com Temporary assistance for needy families rose from $674000 to $842000. The good news, said Verilla, was that the number of children in foster care had … and more »

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and … – PR Newswire (press release)
Oct 18, 2010 19:09 GMT
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and … PR Newswire (press release) These include Head Start, child support programs, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families . HHS also supports programs that focus on responsible … and more »

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Can a disabled model make it in fashion?

Tall, slim and with flowing locks, Lara Masters modelled in her teens. But the work dried up as she developed a degenerative nerve condition. So is the fashion world ready for its first big disabled model?  The fashion industry has a very precise, exacting and unwavering view of beauty: a model must be tall, extremely slim and physically “flawless”. It’s a code of understanding which has ruled me out of modelling even though I am 5ft 9ins, size 6 and, if you’ll excuse my immodesty, beautiful. FIND OUT MORE… Britain’s Missing Top Model is broadcast on BBC Three, starting Tuesday, 1 July at 2100BST Or catch up using the iPlayer I have a degenerative nerve condition that has been gradually paralysing my limbs for many years, and now use an electric wheelchair. As a writer, model (I use the term very loosely as will be explained) actor and TV presenter, I’m more visible than most disabled people. But I have never been accepted in any of these jobs for my skill alone – there is always a focus on my disability. My mum, Debbie Moore, (founder of Pineapple dance studios) was a very successful model in the 60s and 70s. In my early teens, before my disability set in, I followed in her footsteps – modelling for girls’ magazines and Mum’s company. But from the age of 14, because I had some paralysis down my left side and an awkward gait, I could not get an agent and that was the end of my hopes for a modelling career. I even tried joining an agency called Ugly which claimed to be looking for something “different”. By the time my potential employers had scraped their jaws off the floor I felt that even for an agency that was thinking outside of the box, disability was more disturbing than different. Considering the agency name, I didn’t know whether to be flattered or outraged when they refused take to me on.   Lara Masters, whose modelling ambitions have been thwarted by disability Role models were in short supply, until Paralympic runner Aimee Mullins briefly took to the catwalk for designer Alexander McQueen in 1998 – sporting hand-carved wooden prosthetic limb. But when McQueen said he wasn’t out to shock people but “to show that beauty comes from within”, I was appalled and confused. It was patronising the stunningly gorgeous Mullins and seemed to be saying that having a disability makes you a beautiful person. Eventually, when I started using a wheelchair, I got signed up by an agency that only recruited disabled models. It felt like I was only a casting away from becoming the new face of Mac or Aveda. Instead, I found myself on a poorly paid path of infrequent job offers to advertise wheelchairs, stair lifts and accessible buses – all important campaigns but a far cry from New York Fashion Week. So when the BBC set out to challenge stereotypes of beauty, with a reality-style show in which eight young, disabled women compete to be a “top model”, I was excited but also sceptical. Car accident It introduced me to other people who’d had similar experiences, such as 22-year-old Jenny Johnson, who had modelled until a car accident at 16 left her with some lower paralysis.   Aimee on the track in 1996, and at a McQueen opening in 2008 “I started modelling at age 14. I went on several photo shoots and gained some real experience. In spite of acquiring this knowledge, after my accident, it has been impossible to catch a break,” says Jenny. “I’ve even been flat out informed that the reason the agency would not accept me was because of the way I walked.” So what about the industry’s insiders – are they really willing to give disabled models a fair chance? Designer Wayne Hemingway initially sounds an upbeat note. “We’re learning to support diversity and be inclusive of disability in areas such as sport,” he says, name-checking the Paralympics and the disabled basketball players who featured in a recent series of BBC One idents. “In new buildings and transport systems it’s now unthinkable not to design with disability in mind,” he says. But fashion sees itself differently.   Click to play Click to play  Wannabe model Sophie, who is paralysed and in a wheelchair “The fashion industry is still seeking out so-called ‘perfect symmetry’ in impossibly skinny girls and being predictably immoral.” For Marie O’Riordan, editor of Marie Claire magazine, fashion isn’t alone in its promotion of the “perfect” human form – it is reflecting wider prejudices in society. It’s a business “Disability is largely ignored by the mainstream. Traditionally, fashion models have represented the ‘ideal’ of womanhood – they are taller and slimmer so that they can show off clothes to the maximum benefit. Being a clothes horse is not something most women could do very well.” A disabled model, by definition, will be more memorable in a photo than an able-bodied girl Marie O’Riordan The fact is that fashion is a business and it is us, the consumers, who keep it thriving. Is it any wonder the industry sticks to a winning formula and largely shuns the idea of using bigger, more representational female models, let alone disabled models whose physical forms will be even more difficult to sell as aspirational? Yet maybe the BBC’s reality show will make a difference. After all, fashionistas are always looking for something new, and disabled models are perfect to create intrigue and attract attention. “A disabled model, by definition, will be more memorable in a photo than an able-bodied girl, thus making her attractive to a commercial person trying to sell clothes in an advert, or in editorial,” says O’Riordan. Her magazine will feature the programme’s winner in a high-end fashion spread by world-renowned photographer Rankin. This gesture in itself would give any able-bodied model major kudos and guarantee further bookings, so it will be interesting to see what kind of impact this shoot will have on the future of the disabled model. After that, maybe, it’s up to the public. Are they willing to prove their readiness to accept a different ideal of beauty by buying a magazine featuring a amputee model. It’s our collective responsibility. If we want to see the fashion industry broaden its parameters, we must put our money where our mouth is.

THE HISTORY OF ATTITUDES TO DISABLED PEOPLE

The ‘traditional model’

Traditionally, in many cultures around the world, people with physical, sensory or mental impairments were thought of as under the spell of witchcraft, possessed by demons, or as penitent sinners, being punished by God for wrong-doing by themselves or their parents.

A medieval woodcut of witches.

The ‘medical model’

With the Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century, came a more scientific understanding of the causes of impairment and, with it, a sense of confidence in medical science’s ability to cure, or at least rehabilitate, disabled people. Some disabled people (often for social or political reasons) were deemed incurable and placed in long-stay institutions and special schools (or, today, in day-care centres). A notion of ‘normality’ was invested with great pseudo-scientific significance. It was based on assessments of impairments from a deficit point of view against normality: what one cannot do, instead of what one can do. This has been called ‘medical model’ (or ‘individual model’) thinking by the Disabled People’s Movement over the last 30 years. This is not to deny the very necessary role of medical science in keeping many disabled people alive, and reducing their pain and discomfort, but it is to argue that disabled people should not be reduced to just their impairments.

The ‘medical model’ sees disabled people as the problem. They need to be adapted to fit into the world as it is. If this isn’t possible, then they should be shut away in a specialised institution or isolated at home, where only their most basic needs are met. The emphasis is on dependence, backed up by the stereotypes of disability that bring out pity, fear and patronising attitudes. Usually, the impairment is focused on, rather than the needs of the person. The power to change disabled people seems to lie with the medical and associated professions, with their talk of cures, normalisation and science. Often, disabled people’s lives are handed over to these professionals. Their decisions affect where disabled people go to school; what support they get; where they live; what benefits they are entitled to; whether they can work; and even, at times, whether they are born at all, or allowed to have children themselves.

In addition, the Disability Movement points out how the built environment imposes further limitations on disabled people. Medical model thinking would say these problems are due to the disabled person’s lack of rehabilitation. The Disability Movement perceives the difficulties disabled people experience as the barriers that disable them and curtail their life chances. These difficulties include in school and higher education, in finding work and suitable work environments, accessing leisure and entertainment facilities, using private and public transport, obtaining suitable housing, or in their personal, family and social life.

Diagram showing the effects of medical model thinking.

Powerful and pervasive medical model views are reinforced in the media, books, films, comics, art and language. Many disabled people internalise negative views of themselves and develop feelings of low self-esteem and underachievement, which reinforce non-disabled people’s assessments of their worth. The medical model, plus the built environment and social attitudes it creates, lead to a cycle of dependency and exclusion which is difficult to break.

This thinking predominates in filmmaking, leisure, work and education. In schools, for instance, special educational needs are considered the problem of the individual, who is seen as different, faulty and needing to be assessed and made as ‘normal’ as possible.

Increasingly, today, the medical model is being rejected. Many people feel strongly that treating disabled people as needing to be adapted to existing circumstances or, if this is not possible, caring for them in specialised institutions, is wrong.

The ‘social model’

In recent years, the disability movement has advocated a different way of looking at disability, which they call the ‘social model’. This starts from the standpoint of all disabled adults’ and children’s right to belong to and be valued in their local community. Using this model, you start by looking at the strengths of the person with the impairment and at the physical and social barriers that obstruct them, whether at school, college, home or work. The ‘social model’ defines ‘impairment’ and ‘disability’ as very different things:

Disabled people rally together to demonstrate for their rights.

“Impairment is the loss or limitation of physical, mental or sensory function on a long-term or permanent basis.

Disablement is the loss or limitation of opportunities to take part in the normal life of the community on an equal level with others due to physical and social barriers.” Disabled People’s International 1981

Impairment and chronic illness exist and sometimes pose real difficulties. Supporters of the disability movement believe that the discrimination against disabled people is socially created and has little to do with their impairments, and that, regardless of the type or severity of their impairments, disabled people are subjected to a common oppression by the non-disabled world. Disabled people are often made to feel it’s their own fault that they are different. If some part, or parts, of your body or mind are limited in their functioning, this is simply an impairment. It doesn’t make you any less human. But most people have not been brought up to accept all people as they are; in other words, to value difference. Through fear, ignorance and prejudice, barriers and discrimination develop which disable some people. These are often reinforced by images in the media. Understanding this process allows disabled people to feel good about themselves and empowers them to fight for their human rights.

Diagram showing the problems as perceived by ‘social model’ thinking.

The ‘social model’ approach suggests disabled people’s disadvantage is due to a complex form of institutional discrimination, as fundamental to society as sexism, racism or heterosexism. The disability movement believes the ‘cure’ to the problem of disability lies in changing society. Unlike medically-based cures, this is an achievable goal and benefits everyone.

The obsession with finding medically-based cures also distracts people from looking at the causes of impairment or disablement. In a worldwide sense, most impairments are created by wars, hunger, lack of clean water, exploitation of labour, lack of safety, and child abuse and these should be addressed more robustly, rather than just responding to the injuries and impairments that result from them.

Challenging prejudice

Chart comparing the attitudes of medical model and social model thinking.

Social model thinking has important implications for the education system, and particularly primary and secondary schools. Prejudiced attitudes toward disabled people and all minority groups are not innate. They are learned through contact with the prejudice and ignorance of others.

Therefore, it is appropriate that the challenge to discrimination against disabled people should begin in schools. The fight for the inclusion of all disabled people, however severe their impairments, in one mainstream social system, will not make sense unless people understand the difference between the social and medical models of disability.

The social model has now been adopted by the World Health Organisation.

Who is disabled?

People who have an impairment and experience some form of social exclusion as a result are disabled people. Many people have impairments, such as those who use glasses or contact lenses. They are not usually discriminated against. Whereas, people who are deaf and use hearing aids are usually discriminated against by barriers in communication. Therefore, disabled people includes people with:

• Physical impairments;
• Sensory impairments (deaf people, blind people);
• Chronic illness or health issues, including HIV and AIDS;
• All degrees of learning difficulties;
• Emotional, mental health and behavioural problems.

The definition also includes people with hidden impairments, such as:

• Epilepsy;
• Diabetes;
• Sickle cell anaemia;
• Specific learning difficulties, such as dyslexia;
• Speech and language impairments;
• Children labelled as ‘delicate’;
• People who identify as ‘disfigured’;
• People of diminutive stature;
• People with mental distress.

Children of a Lesser God (1986, Randa Haines, USA)

Disabled people fight for equality

In the last 30 years, disabled people have campaigned for and won a human rights-based approach to disability. It is beginning to be accepted that disability discrimination, prejudice, negative attitudes and stereotypes are not acceptable. The struggles of disabled people to gain civil rights have led to legislation in the USA (The Americans with Disabilities Act 1990); in the UK (The Disability Discrimination Act 1995); and many other countries, including South Africa, India and Australia. The United Nations adopted the UN Standard Rules on Equalisation in 1992.

In all these measures, the onus is on eliminating discrimination by bringing in enforceable civil rights legislation, based on the idea that adjustments need to be made to services, buildings, transport, workplaces, environments, communications and equipment to allow disabled people access. Prejudicial attitudes and practices are outlawed and institutional discrimination, in the form of organisations which exclude disabled people, is being challenged.

However, negative attitudes, stereotypes and distorted portrayals of disabled people’s lives still predominate in commercial films. The increasing capacity of the world media system to recycle moving image media means that, despite worthy legislation, negative views are continually reinforced through film.

Check out the Disability Rights Commission website for guidance and a Code of Practice.

 

PUBLISHED IN:  ‘MEDICAL MODEL’ VS ‘SOCIAL MODEL’ ON FEBRUARY 27, 2007 AT 4:59 PM

 

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अबसरको झोलि चाहिन्छ।।।।