1.🧠 Disability Models

 

The key models to understand are:

• Medical model — focuses on the person's impairment or condition and often views disability as something that needs to be treated or managed.
• Social model — focuses on the barriers created by society and the environment, rather than seeing the person as the problem.
• Biopsychosocial model — combines biological, psychological, and social factors to give a broader picture of disability and functioning.

Simple example:
A wheelchair user cannot enter a building because there are stairs.

• Medical model → focuses on the person's physical impairment.
• Social model → focuses on the stairs and inaccessible building.
• Biopsychosocial model → considers the person's health/functioning and the environmental and social factors affecting them.

2. ⚖️ Human Rights and Equality

Disability is not only about healthcare or support services. It is also about rights, equality, dignity, participation, and freedom from discrimination.

Important areas include:

• Access to education
• Employment
• Healthcare
• Housing
• Transportation
• Communication and information
• Relationships and community participation
• Equal treatment under the law
• Reasonable accommodations/adjustments

A major principle is that people with disabilities should be able to participate in society on an equal basis with others.

3. ♿ Universal Design and Accessibility

Universal Design means designing things so they can be used by as many people as possible without needing special adaptation.

For example:

• A building with step-free entrances
• Clear signs and good contrast
• Websites that work with screen readers
• Captions on videos
• Easy-to-understand information
• Controls that can be operated in different ways

This is different from designing something for an "average" person and then trying to modify it afterwards.

4. 🔎 Accessibility Audits and Removing Barriers

An accessibility audit asks:

"What could prevent someone from using or participating in this?"

You can examine:

Area	Things to check
Physical	Steps, doors, toilets, lighting, noise, signage
Digital	Keyboard access, captions, screen readers, contrast
Communication	Plain language, Easy Read, alternative formats
Policies	Rules that unintentionally exclude people
Attitudes	Stereotypes, assumptions, stigma
Financial	Cost of transportation, equipment, services, or participation

The important step is not just finding a barrier, but asking how it can be removed or reduced.

🌍 The bigger picture

One of the most important ideas running through this module is:

Disability is influenced by more than a person's impairment.

Culture, attitudes, poverty, education, employment, healthcare, physical environments, technology, laws, and social support can all affect a person's experience.

So inclusion isn't simply:

"How do we help this person?"

It can also be:

"What is preventing this person from participating, and what can we change?"

That connects particularly well with the social model of disability and Universal Design.

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