The social model does not limit the description of activities. It takes a wider perspective that the ability to undertake such activities is dependent upon society and social intervention. It can therefore be seen that the limitation of activities that a disabled person can participate in is not caused by their impairments but is a consequence of societies in ability to accommodate difference. Hence this is why it is called social model of disability. For example, you are in a wheelchair because you can not walk (impairment): but you cannot access buildings because the building has not been designed with your need in mind. You cannot get through the door because they are not wide enough (you are disabled by a failure of social organisation). However this has to be changed by law by 2004. Part M of the Buildings Regulation Act states that every new building should be built with disabled access and that every other building should be adapted accordingly. Because the medical model uses impairment to account for disability, it can therefore be said that disability is the persons inability to participate because of that persons impairment or impairments, means that people with impairments will always be seen as being inferior, or second rate to the non disabled person. The social model focuses on those aspects of society, which disable people face such as discrimination and disability. For example, because an employer will not provide adequate support for a person with physical difficulties such as assistance with going to the toilet the employer is discriminating against and disabling the person to successfully work in the conditions that they need.
In conclusion the social model suggests that a person is disabled if the society will not take into account their physical or mental differences.
When a person talks of empowerment they are talking of the citizenship rights of a person. “The failure to empower is not something that will be tolerated… disabled people all over the world are struggling to confront the processes that exclude and segregate them and to escape form the institutions that are part of that.” (Oliver 1996,p93). Empowerment is meant to allow the disabled person to do more things for themselves but however it can be seen that empowerment can also be disabling. Disablement is a major social problem. It affects not only the person who is disabled but also their families and friends. Self-Advocacy enables people to make choices and decisions about the way in which they want to live their lives. Advocacy can be seen as standing up for ones rights, making informed choices and speaking up for ones self. Self-Advocacy in relation to people who have learning difficulties can be seen as people who have gained the power to fight for their individual rights rather than in the past being a collective group who have been stigmatised and labelled as having no rights at all. Self-Advocacy is also about a person’s own identity. When we talk about empowerment it is in the specific context of people with learning difficulties. It must be remembered that self - advocacy is different from empowerment. Empowerment consists of two main freedoms, which are the freedom to avoid unnecessary constraint and the freedom to develop individuals potential. Empowerment is based on the idea that there are lots of people within society who experience heightened vulnerability and have special needs because of their impairment or impairments.
A pilot project in London, run by the Greenwich Association of Disabled People showed that giving the disabled person direct control over their own care budget not only produced more effective and personalised service, but also provided better value for money. It was less costly for the government. As a result the UK government introduced direct control, nation wide from 1996.In Britain direct payments have been available since 1997, but so far only 54 of the local authorities offer direct payment schemes. This is just over a third of those with social service responsibility in England and Wales. The British system differs from the Canadian and other schemes available in Europe in that claimants are at present responsible for securing their own services. But help is available from local Independent Living Groups. The government intends to extend direct payment schemes, promising nearly £3billion extra funding for social services. It hopes eventually to make it mandatory for all authorities to offer direct payment schemes. Direct payments to people over 65 are also promised. The Association of Directors of Social Services disability committee points out that the costs to the state are no more, and often less, through direct payments, and that the only hindrance at present is the initial cost outlay. The innovation consists of providing community support in the form of an independent agent - i.e. not paid by the government or the service providers - to help person with exceptional needs secure and manage their own funds.
This concept marks the recognition of the rights of persons with continuing needs that started with the processes of de-institutionalisation and community care. It turns the user of services into a purchaser of services. It makes the service providers accountable to the person, not to an agency or to the government. It removes many of the barriers that make it impossible to become full citizens. Many groups and sectors have been involved in making the innovation a reality. In the UK such direct payment exists as a well-kept secret. There are two versions (with many variations within each) of personalised funding (funding allocated to the individual based on specific needs) that could work in the UK.
- Individualised funding, where the funding is 'attached' to the person, but managed and monitored by a third party. Given the current system of grants through the DHSS and the need for local authorities to top up allocations to voluntary agencies to meet some clients' exceptional needs, it is conceivable that a brokerage model might be seen as a means of negotiating these extra funds so that the existing voluntary agencies or new services could provide the services.
- Direct Funding. Once the funding is negotiated, it is given directly to the person, family or person willing to assist. If individuals are able to manage on their own, they do so in the same manner that those with independent wealth have always done.
If individuals are not able or prepared to manage their services on their own, they have a number of options - they could hire an agency to provide the services for them (as is the case in privately funded special care), or they could have the broker (or volunteer committee of people they select) assist in setting up and monitoring services for them.
Historically, children with impairments were socialised into low expectations of success in education. Their educational provision has been designed for special educational needs that segregate them from the society and the mainstream education system. A neo Marxist approach maintains that the development and maintenance of the special school system is little more than “a pernicious system of social control” (ford et al 1982:82). The 1944 Education Act stated that as far as possible disabled children should be educated in mainstream schools. However it encouraged the local education authorities to make separate provisions for children with impairments (Tomlinson, 1982). The argument from within the disabled people’s movement is that the special education system is essential to the disabling process and therefore must be abolished. Special colleges and schools continue the subordination of disabled people. The 1988 Education Reform Act introduced a national curriculum, which benefits disabled children. Inclusive education means that all students in a school, regardless of their strengths or weaknesses in any area become part of the school community. They are included in the feeling of belonging among other students, teachers, and support staff. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and its 1997 amendments make it clear that schools have a duty to educate children with disabilities in general education classrooms. The main benefits to inclusive education are that friendships will develop between disabled and non disabled children, reduce or remove the stereotypes attached to disability, experience a more varied curriculum. Inclusive education will also allow the disabled child to have more self-confidence. The ethos of inclusive education is to facilitate meaningful opportunities for all children regardless of impairment. (Freeman and Gray, 1989). Overall the British education system has failed disabled children by not providing the same educational opportunities as the non disabled child as they have made special provisions to help reduce the disabled child’s isolation but in turn has just contributed to the disabled child’s isolation.
In conclusion a disabled person is disabled due to society and not because of their impairment or impairments. Society can not adapt to the needs of different individuals and therefore find the disabled person a problem. “If disabled people are characterised by their separation from the normal population, specific representation may be both contested and contradictory.” (Barnes 1999 pg37). The only way in which to change societies attitude towards the disabled person is to educate them. Also society can concentrate on the persons ability rather that concentrating on the persons inability to carry out activities. By empowering an individual we are therefore saying that they did not have that power in the first place so we have to be very careful in the approach that is taken to enable their abilities rather than making the choices for that person. Self advocacy is therefore a better way of helping the disabled person make the choices that they wish to do so as they are doing it for themselves instead of someone else trying to do it for them. People can only enable a disabled person if that disabled person sees their impairment as being disabling. According to Finkelstein an impairment is “the outcome of an oppressive relationship between people with… impairment’s and the rest of society.”(Finkelstein 1980:47).
Case Studies
This part of the essay will look at how personal society services enables the service user or whether it in fact disables the service user. The essay will give examples of service users who use the enable project. Personal society services (PSS) works with many different service user groups to try improve their quality of life: The organisation works:
There are many different services provided to the service users within PSS. The Adult Family Placement provides support to adults who are unable to live independently. Special carers make their homes available on a short-term, long term or sessional basis. The basis of this service is to enable clients to experience an ordinary domestic environment.
The services can provide a short break or holiday for people with mental health problems or respite for their families.
Merseyside-based projects include long-term placements for older people with mental health problems and Choice, which is an innovative short-term alternative to emergency hospital admission for clients in crisis.
PSS runs community centres, which offer a range of listening, counselling, information, advice and support services to people in Liverpool with mental health problems. The centres give people the chance to talk about their personal difficulties or emotional problems with a trained listener.
Drop-in sessions give people the chance to get involved in a range of activities including discussions, arts and crafts and alternative therapies. Training is also available in anxiety management, confidence building, relaxation and mental health awareness.
PSS runs several supported living projects in Liverpool and Knowsley - houses designed around the needs of adults with mental illness. The houses are owned by local housing associations, with PSS managing them and providing up to 24-hour support. The aim is to maximise the independence of tenants and to help them live within the community. Tenants are also encouraged to participate in the running of the houses.
There is also a service called enable offered to service users who find it extremely difficult to get out into society because of their disability this offers them to participate in activities on their own or with other on a regular basis. For example going swimming.
Bibliography
- Barnes, Colin,1999, Exploring disability: a sociological introduction, polity press
- Barnes, Colin,1991, Disabled people in Britain and discrimination: a case for anti-discrimination legislation, C Hurst & co. ltd
- Brading, Jean,1996, Disability discrimination: A practical guide to the new law, Kogan page ltd
- Hales, Gerald, 1996,Beyond disability towards an enabling society, Sage publication ltd.
- Isherwood Millicent M,1986, coping with disability, W&R Chambers ltd Edinburgh
- Johnstone, David, 2001, An introduction to disability studies, David Fulton publishers London.
- Lakey, Jane, 1994 Caring about independence, policy studies institute.
- Marks, Deborah, 1999, Disability: controversial debates and psychosocial perspectives, Routledge.
- Oliver, Michael, 1999, Social work with disabled people, Macmillan press ltd.
- Patrick, Donald L, 1989, Disablement in the community, Oxford medical publications
- Silvers, Anita, 1998 Disability, Difference, Discrimination: perspectives on justice in bio ethics and public policy, Rowman & Littlefield publishers, inc.
