SOCIOLOGY OF DISABILITY

G672

Which of the following do you consider to be disabled?

2.1.

3.

4.5.

6.

RecapWHITEBOARD QUIZ!!!!

1.

How many people do MIND estimate suffer from a mental

illness?

2.

What are the three different approaches to mental

illness?

3.

Which two groups are most likely to be diagnosed with

depression?

4.

When entering a mental institution, what is ‘mortification of the self’ (as

described by Goffman)?

5.

Which psychologist sent participants in his experiment

into mental institutions, pretending to be mentally ill…

(bonus point…and what were they all diagnosed with?)

6.

Why did slaves run away from their

“owners”?

Learning Objectives

Define the concept of disability. Outline and evaluate approaches to

disability by two sociological models:

1. The biomedical model

2. The social model

Individually: On Your Whiteboards

Provide your own single-sentence definition of disability.

What does it mean to be ‘disabled’?

‘Official’ Definition

In the UK, a disabled person is considered to be “anyone with a physical or mental impairment, which has a substantial and

long-term adverse effect upon their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities”.

Are there any problems with this definition?

Discuss

Are you aware of any UK legislation/laws geared towards disabled people?

Legislation

The 1995 Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)

Guarantees legal protection to disabled people in a range of areas/situations.

The Extent of Disability

Over 10 million people in the UK are disabled.

6.8 million of these are of working age (around 19% of the working population)

Source: Disabled Living Foundation (2014)

Issues with the Statistics

These statistics can grow or reduce depending on how broad our definition of disability is.

For example, dyslexia affects between 4–10% of the UK population, but it is contested as to the extent to whether or not these sort of learning difficulties should feature in disability statistics.

Models of DisabilityBiomedical & Social

Discuss: Pairs

Based on your studies so far, how do you think the two models would view disability differently?

Summarise the views of your pair in one line on your whiteboard.

The Biomedical Model Disability is a medical problem.

Disabled people are in need of care.

The level of care will depend on the degree of impairment the individual limitations it places on them person.

People are disabled because they are prevented from doing things that others take for granted.

The Biomedical Model

The model suggests that the disabled individual is a ‘problem’ to be cured/treated (or cared for, if not).

Criticisms Does not recognise the social barriers

which prevent social participation.

Because it focuses on individual rehabilitation it does not tackle the problem of discrimination...

...The biomedical model focuses on making individuals ‘better’ not ensuring society treats them better.

In Pairs

On your whiteboards, identify three ways in which the nature of our society might create problems for disabled individuals.

The Social Model

Disability is not created through impairment – it is created by society.

The Social Model

“It is the inability of the social environment to cater for people with disabilities rather

than the impairment itself that creates disability.” - Mike Oliver (1990)

For example, disabled people can have difficulty using public transport: Not because of their disability, but because public transport is not designed for their use.

The Social Model

Think about:

If you lived in a world where everyone else except you could fly, you would be considered disabled...Not because anything is ‘wrong’ with

you, but because of the

nature of that

society.

The Social Model

The social model argues that people with impairments are disabled by society, by the way society’s institutions operate and by the attitudes and beliefs non-disabled people hold about disabled people.

(Davies; 1994)

Activity

Study the handout and answer the questions provided.

Stigma & Disability

‘Stigma’ means when people with certain characteristics are regarded as inferior or deviant by many members of ‘normal’ society.

The stigma associated with being different may restrict opportunities for disabled people.

Criticisms of the social model It fails to acknowledge that impairment

can restrict social participation. For example, someone with profound mental impairments may not be able to partake in many social activities, regardless of how they are defined.

Written Activity

Identify and explain two models of disability [17]

Peer Assess

Exchange your work with a partner and peer-assess using the mark-scheme

provided.

Work out the mark as a percentage and award them a grade – with a couple of

lines feedback.

Learning Objectives

Define the concept of disability. Outline and evaluate approaches to

disability by two sociological models:

1. The biomedical model

2. The social model