Glossary

Search results

Biopsychosocial Model(also: BPS Model)

The biopsychosocial model is a holistic framework for understanding health and disability that considers the interplay of biological, psychological, and social factors in a person's experience. In contrast to the medical model (which focuses on biological deficits) and the…

Charity Model of Disability(also: Charity Model)

A framework that views people with disabilities as helpless victims who are dependent on the goodwill and benevolence of others. Under this model, disability is treated as a tragedy requiring charitable intervention, positioning disabled people as passive recipients of aid…

Identity Model of Disability(also: Affirmation Model)

A model of disability in which individuals claim disability as a positive aspect of their identity, similar to how other marginalized groups have reclaimed their identities. Unlike the medical model (which views disability as a deficiency to be fixed) or the social model (which…

Illness Narrative(also: Disease Narrative)

An illness narrative is the story a person and their significant others construct to give coherence to the disruptive experience of illness or diagnosis and its effects on the family system. In the context of cognitive impairment and dementia, the illness narrative typically…

Medical Model of Disability(also: Medical Model, Deficit Model)

The medical model of disability is a framework that views disability primarily as a problem located within the individual, a biological deficit or impairment that needs to be fixed, cured, or compensated for through medical intervention or assistive technology. Under this model,…

Medical Model of Disability(also: medical model, individual model of disability)

A framework that views disability as a problem located within the individual, caused by disease, injury, or health condition, that requires medical intervention or rehabilitation to "fix" the person. Under this model, disabilities are deficits to be cured or managed. The medical…

Moral Model of Disability(also: Religious Model of Disability)

A historical framework that attributes disability to moral failing, divine punishment, or supernatural causes such as curses or sins. Under this model, disability is viewed as a consequence of wrongdoing by the individual or their family, leading to shame, social exclusion, and…

Post-Modern Model of Disability(also: Postmodern Model, Critical Disability Model)

A framework for understanding disability that integrates aspects of both the medical and social models, recognizing that both physiological factors and social barriers contribute to the experience of disability. Unlike the medical model (which locates disability in the…

Social Model of Disability(also: social model, barriers model)

A framework that distinguishes between impairment (a physical, sensory, or cognitive difference) and disability (the social barriers and exclusion that result from society not accommodating that difference). Under this model, people are disabled by inaccessible environments,…

9 results.