What is the Social Model?
Four Frameworks of Disability
Framework Main
view Main focus What it means in practice
Medical Model Disability
is primarily viewed as a problem or impairment within the individual. Diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, and
managing impairment. The person may
receive medical treatment, therapy, rehabilitation, or other interventions.
Social Model: Disability
is created or increased by barriers in society and the environment. Removing physical, social, attitudinal, and
institutional barriers. Society changes
the environment and practices so people can participate equally.
Biopsychosocial Model: Disability
and health are influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors
together. The whole person, rather than
just the condition. Support may include
healthcare, psychological support, accessibility, relationships, and practical
assistance.
🧠 Biopsychosocial Model
of Disability — Study Notes
What is the
Biopsychosocial Model?
The Biopsychosocial
Model looks at disability and health as the result of an interaction between
biological, psychological, and social factors.
It recognises that a
person's experience cannot always be explained by their medical condition
alone.
The Three Parts
🧬 Biological
Looks at the person's
physical or medical factors.
Examples:
Health conditions
Impairments
Pain
Medication
Neurological or physical
functioning
🧠 Psychological
Looks at thoughts,
emotions, behaviours, and psychological well-being.
Examples:
Anxiety
Depression
Stress
Coping strategies
Motivation
Self-esteem
👥 Social
Looks at the person's
environment and relationships.
Examples:
Family and friends
Education
Employment
Housing
Accessibility
Social attitudes
Discrimination
Support services
Core Assumptions
Disability can be
influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors.
These factors can
interact with each other.
A person's environment
and support systems can affect how they experience disability.
Personal experiences,
coping, and psychological well-being can also influence participation.
Medical treatment may be
important, but it may not be enough by itself.
Accessibility, social
support, and environmental changes may also be necessary.
Example
Imagine a person with physical
impairment.
The biological factor
could be their mobility difficulty.
The psychological factor
could include anxiety about going into unfamiliar places.
The social/environmental
factor could be a building that has stairs but no lift.
The biopsychosocial
approach asks:
How are all of these
factors interacting to affect the person's daily life and participation?
Implications
The model encourages:
Holistic support —
looking at the whole person.
Person-centred care —
considering the individual's needs, preferences, and goals.
Cooperation between
different professionals.
Medical treatment when
appropriate.
Psychological and
emotional support when needed.
Accessibility and
environmental changes.
Greater participation
and quality of life.
It can therefore be
useful across healthcare, rehabilitation, education, social care, and
disability services.
Strengths
✅ Looks beyond the medical condition alone.
✅ Recognises that biological, psychological, and social
factors can interact.
✅ Supports person-centred approaches.
✅ Can encourage professionals from different
disciplines to work together.
✅ Recognizes the importance of both healthcare and the
person's environment.
Limitations
⚠️ It can be very broad, making it difficult to know
exactly how much importance should be given to each factor.
⚠️ Different professionals may interpret and apply the
model differently.
⚠️ If used poorly, it can still become too medically
focused.
⚠️ It does not automatically guarantee that a person's
rights, choices, or voice will be prioritised.
🌍 WHO Connection
Your WHO statement
captures an important principle behind the model: disability is not simply a
health problem located within an individual. It also involves the interaction
between characteristics of the person and the context in which they live.
One useful way to
connect this to your other models is:
Model Main question
Medical What is the person's condition, and how can
it be treated?
Social What barriers in society are restricting the
person?
Biopsychosocial How are biological, psychological, and social
factors interacting?
Human Rights & Empowerment Perspective: People with disabilities have equal rights,
dignity, choice, autonomy, and participation. Rights,
equality, self-determination, and empowerment. People
are involved in decisions about their own lives and have the right to
participate fully in society.
The Social Model of Disability says that people are
disabled mainly by barriers in society, not simply by their impairment or
health condition.
For example:
A wheelchair user is not disabled by their wheelchair.
They may be disabled when a building has only stairs and no ramp or lift.
Main Ideas
Society creates barriers that can restrict disabled
people.
Barriers can be:
🏢 Physical — stairs, inaccessible buildings, poor
transport.
💬 Attitudinal — prejudice, stereotypes, or negative
attitudes.
🏛️ Institutional/systemic — policies or systems that
exclude people.
💻 Communication/information — websites, forms, or
information that are not accessible.
The solution is to remove barriers and make society
more accessible.
Disabled people should have equal opportunities,
rights, choice, and participation.
Example
Medical Model:
"She cannot enter the building because she uses a
wheelchair."
The focus is on the person's impairment.
Social Model:
"She cannot enter the building because there are
stairs and no accessible entrance."
The focus is on the barrier created by the
environment.
Strengths
The Social Model:
Supports disability rights and equality.
Encourages accessible and inclusive environments.
Challenges discrimination and negative attitudes.
Encourages organisations to make reasonable changes
and accommodations.
Supports Universal Design — designing environments and
services so that as many people as possible can use them.
Recognises disabled people as people with rights,
choices, and a voice.
Limitations
The Social Model is very useful, but it does not
explain everything about disability.
It can sometimes under-emphasize:
Pain or fatigue caused by impairment.
Medical treatment and healthcare needs.
The personal experience of living with impairment.
The need for personal assistance or other support.
Differences between individuals with the same
condition.
Therefore, modern approaches often recognise that both
individual factors and social barriers can affect a person's experience of
disability.
Important Quote
The Union of the Physically Impaired Against
Segregation (UPIAS) was an important influence on the development of the Social
Model.
The key idea behind the quote you included is:
Disability results from the disadvantage created when
society fails to take account of people with impairments.
⭐ Remember It This Way
Medical Model:
"What is wrong with the person?"
⬇️
Social Model:
"What barriers are stopping the person?"
⬇️
Goal:
Remove the barriers → improve access → increase
inclusion and participation.
One important distinction for your course notes: the
Social Model does not mean that impairments, illnesses, pain, or support needs
are not real. Its main argument is that society should not turn those
differences into unnecessary disadvantage, exclusion, or discrimination.
The Medical Model of Disability
The Medical Model of disability primarily views disability as a
problem or deficit located in the individual. It focuses on diagnosis,
treatment, and cure. Disability is perceived as
something to be repaired or overseen by healthcare
professionals.
Core Assumptions
Disability is caused by illness, injury, or involved
in biological abnormalities.
The goal is to restore or “normalise” the person
through medical intervention.
Professionals (doctors, therapists) are the primary
experts.
Implications
It focuses on the person’s impairment
rather than environmental or societal barriers.
It may lead to over-medicalisation and exclusion from
decision-making processes.
Services and
supports are often framed in terms of deficits rather
than strengths.
Criticisms
It researches the role of society in creating
barriers.
Promotes dependency and paternalism.
It fails to consider the lived experience and agency
of disabled people.
“The problem is
not that I am blind, but that the world is designed for people who can see.”
— Reflecting a critique of the Medical Model.
.
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