On this page, you can browse information about the Social Model of Disability available in accessible formats including text, audio, Easy Read, BSL, and animations.
The following text and information is an adaptation of a resource created by Barbara Lisicki.
At Shape, all of our work is informed by the Social Model of Disability.
The Social Model holds that a person isn’t 'disabled' because of their impairment, health condition, or the ways in which they may differ from what is commonly considered the medical 'norm'; rather it is the physical and attitudinal barriers in society – prejudice, lack of access adjustments and systemic exclusion – that disable people.
To say that someone is 'just different' or 'differently-abled' ignores the fact that they face these disabling barriers created by society, and implies that they do not experience discrimination, and that society does not need to change to become more accessible and inclusive.
The Social Model was developed by disabled people to identify and take action against discrimination, and to centre equality and human rights. This is in contrast to the traditional Medical Model, which presents disability as an individual, medical 'problem', focuses on what a person can't do because of their particular physical, neurological or psychological characteristics, centres care, cure and welfare instead of accessibility, independence and inclusion, and places responsibility and burden on the disabled individual.
The Social Model takes the focus away from impairment; it places responsibility on government, organisations, businesses and individuals across all sectors of society to identify and implement constructive changes to remove barriers and increase access.
A good place for organisations and companies to start is by undertaking professional Disability Equality Training and access consultation. Browse the audit and training services we offer
Under the Social Model, disability is framed as a social construct created by barriers which can be changed and eliminated, providing a dynamic and positive model which identifies the causes of exclusion and inequality and proposes a solution. It is on society to make changes, not on the disabled person; for individuals and organisations to understand and then make the adjustments required to stop marginalising and excluding people whose bodies and minds don’t comply with society’s idea of what is normative and acceptable.
The Social Model makes a clear distinction between impairment (a condition, illness or loss/lack of function) and disability (barriers and discrimination). It also demonstrates that people from different impairment groups, far from having separate issues and interests, face common problems - such as lack of access to information and communication, environmental exclusion and discrimination in employment - and empowers them, along with their allies, to find common solutions to remove these barriers. It moves away from a position of 'blaming' the individual for their 'shortcomings', argues that impairment is and always will be present in society, and suggests that the only logical outcome is to plan and organise society in a way that includes, rather than excludes, disabled people.
Disabled activists Vic Finkelstein and Mike Oliver are widely credited as founders of the Social Model of Disability.
The social model of disability was first developed in the 1970s. Mike Oliver first formally coined the social model of disability in 1983.
We provide professional Disability Equality Training and access consultancy services for organisations wanting to become accessible, open up to disabled people and improve their diversity.
Watch a selection of animations that explore the social model of disability Read more
Watch the BSL film explaining the social model of disability Read more
Read the Easy Read version of our resource on the Social Model of Disability Read more