Coming out of the shadows

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Coming out of the shadows
Disabled people, health and social inclusion
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The messages we receive are very strong and
clear and we have little access to different
values which may place a more positive value on
our bodies, ourselves and our lives. Our self
image is thus dominated by the non-disabled
world's reaction to us' Jenny Morris
The medical model of disability sees the person
as the problem, and the solution as making the
person normal. The medical model leads to the
provision of special schools, special transport,
sheltered jobs, physiotherapy and speech therapy,
charities and benefits. It also leads to eugenics
getting rid of disabled babies by stopping
disabled people and others having them. Simone
Aspis
Images of people climbing into lion cages and
murdering people is what the media immediately
present you with the presumption that if you
hear voices, self harm or live life on a real
roller coaster then you are not fit to make a
decision about anything in your life. Having a
psychiatric record is much worse than having a
criminal record, at least after youve been
punished for a crime the conviction will usually
be treated as spent. However if you have a
psychiatric record judgements are made about you
for ever. Nasa Begum
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The social model of disability makes the
important distinction between 'impairment' and
'disability'. and is the response of the disabled
people's civil rights movement to the oppression
of disabled people. Disability is caused by
'barriers' or elements of social organisation
that take no or little account of people who have
impairments. It follows that if disabled people
are to be able to join in mainstream society,
which is their human right, the way society is
organised must be changed. Removing the barriers
which exclude (disable) people who have
impairments will bring about this change.
My life has two phases before the social model
of disability, and after it. Discovering this way
of thinking about my experiences was the
proverbial raft in stormy seas. It gave me an
understanding of my life, shared with thousands,
even millions, of other people around the world,
and I clung to it. This was the explanation I had
sought for years. Suddenly what I had always
known, deep down, was confirmed. It wasn't my
body that was responsible for all my
difficulties, it was external factors, the
barriers constructed by the society in which I
live. Liz Crow