Public and Commercial Services Union

The way we (and others) regard disability can have a fundamental effect on what we are prepared to do, and why, in overcoming the difficulties that disabled people face on a day-to-day basis.

It can also have a determining influence on our language when we talk about disability, impairment etc.

Several definitions of disability

There are several 'definitions' of disability that we can use. The DDA definition is the perhaps the most obvious which defines disability as:

'a physical or mental impairment that has a long-term, substantial, adverse effect on the ability to perform day-to-day activities.' 

But this is by no means the only definition.

The two most common ways of looking at disability are usually referred to as the 'medical' and 'social' models.

Medical model

Under the medical model, disability is defined with reference to what is 'wrong' with the person: how they are thought to differ from the 'norm' that is accepted by society as a whole. 

'Disability' and 'impairment' become interchangeable and are used to describe the 'medical' condition that someone is said to have.

In addition, with this line of thinking, everything that is experienced by a disabled person is seen as arising because of what is 'wrong' with them: she can't read that magazine because she's blind; he can't travel to this meeting because he is a wheelchair user. 

It is a small step to then place the disabled person in the role of a 'victim', someone who has 'suffered' a misfortune etc.

This can be very patronising and is offensive to many disabled people.

Social model

The social model of disability is different - it does distinguish between impairment and disability.

Impairment in this context is described as a characteristic or long term attribute of someone. 

This may or may not result from an injury or disease and which may affect that person's appearance or the functioning of their mind or body and which may cause pain or fatigue and may affect communication and/or reduce consciousness.

Disability however, is clearly viewed as the disadvantage, restriction on activity and involvement caused by an approach by society (or parts of it) which take little or no account of people with impairments and their needs, and thus excludes them from mainstream activity.

The social model of disability locates the problems faced by disabled people externally - in the way that organisations, for example, produce information that is not readily accessible to a section of society; in the travel infrastructure that does not make adequate (or any) provision for alternative forms of mobility. 

So, under the social model approach, the individual is not prevented from reading a magazine by their blindness, but by the lack of readily available alternative formats.

The individual is not prevented from travelling by their use of a wheelchair, but by the lack of facilities at stations, on trains in buses etc, to accommodate his needs. And it is the lack of these accessible options that 'disables' the individual.

The social model locates the blame for the barriers facing people with impairments clearly with those who erect the barriers. 

The most common barriers are:

• prejudice and stereotyping
• inflexible organisational procedures and practices
• inaccessible information; inaccessible buildings
• inaccessible transport systems.

The Disability Discrimination Act definition

The DDA approaches disability in a strange and unique way. The key part of the definition follows a medical approach, as it is all about what a person is unable to do. 

However many of the additional provisions, within the definition, seem to  realise that people can face discrimination (the legal term for barriers) without needing to be 'impaired' to any great degree.

For example it allows for coverage of those with progressive conditions before the adverse effect on day-to-day activities becomes substantial and  protects people living with HIV, MS or cancer from the point of diagnosis.

In its wider operation, the DDA seems to recognise the need to overcome barriers and that the responsibility for these barriers is external to the disabled person. This is why there is are requirements within the Act for 'reasonable adjustments' to be made.