Skip to main content

Disability Models

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Abstract

There are several different models of disability that are important for rehabilitation professionals working in medical rehabilitation to understand in order to work with persons with disabilities. Various ideas and theories exist regarding the nature and definition of disability. In this section, five of the most prominent and influential disability models are discussed: the moral model, the medical model, the rehabilitation model, the social model, and the diversity model. Terminology stemming from these models has personal, social, medical, and political implications for disability. Words such as impairment, handicap, and disability have specific meanings, and it is imperative that those in the field of rehabilitation medicine grasp the models that are the origins of, and understand the significance of, each of these terms.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   199.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Olkin R. What psychotherapists should know about disability. New York: Guilford; 1999.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Andrews E, Elliott T. Physical rehabilitation programs. In: Hunter CL, Hunter CM, Kessler R, editors. Handbook of clinical psychology in medical settings: evidence based assessment and intervention. 2nd edn. New York: Springer; 2014. p. 673–690

    Google Scholar 

  3. Kaplan R. Quality of life: an outcomes perspective. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2002;83(2):S44–50.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Longmore P. Uncovering the hidden history of disabled people. Rev Am Hist. 1987;15:355–64.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Brock D. Preventing genetically transmissible diseases while respecting persons with disabilities. In: Wasserman D, Wachbroit R, Bickenbac J, editors. Quality of life and human difference: genetic testing, health care, and disability. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2005. p. 67–100.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  6. Evans J. Why the medical model needs disability studies (and vice-versa): a perspective from rehabilitation psychology. Disability Stud Q. 2004;24(4):93–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Wright B. Physical disability: a psychosocial approach. 2nd ed. New York: Harper & Row; 1983.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  8. Altman B. Disability definitions, models, classification schemes, and applications. In: Albredht G, Seelman K, Bury M, editors. Handbook of disability studies. Thousand Oaks: Sage; 2001. p. 97–122.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  9. Peterson D, Elliott T. Advances in conceptualizing and studying disability. In: Lent R, Brown S, editors. Handbook of counseling psychology. 4th ed. New York: Sage; 2008. p. 212–30.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Andrews E, Kuemmel A, Williams J, et al. Providing culturally competent supervision to trainees with disabilities rehabilitation settings. Rehabil Psychol. 2013;58(3):233–44.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Gill C. A psychological view of disability culture. Disability Stud Q. 1995;15:15–9.

    Google Scholar 

  12. World Health Organization. International classification of functioning, disability, and health. Geneva: Author; 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  13. World Health Organization. International classification of impairments, disabilities and handicaps. Geneva: Author; 1980.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Goodley D. Disability studies: an interdisciplinary introduction. Thousand Oaks: Sage; 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  15. McRuer R. Crip theory: cultural signs of queerness and disability. New York: New York University Press; 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Mitchell D, Snyder S. Narrative prosthesis: disability and the dependencies of discourse. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; 2000.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Erin E. Andrews Psy.D., ABPP .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Andrews, E.E. (2017). Disability Models. In: Budd, M., Hough, S., Wegener, S., Stiers, W. (eds) Practical Psychology in Medical Rehabilitation. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-34034-0_9

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-34034-0_9

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-34032-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-34034-0

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics