Disability Support | Disability Resource Hub

The Medical Model traditionally conceived of disability as a medical ‘problem’ located within the individual. This defined disability in terms of a person’s impairment which can be ‘cured’ by the intervention of medical science. Individuals are seen as patients or service users, rather than active agents in their own lives. 

The Social Model, by contrast, places an emphasis on ‘disabling barriers’ caused by economic and environmental factors and social attitudes that prevent the full participation of disabled people in society. Rooted in disability rights, this approach locates the problem within society and its lack of inclusion, rather than on what is ‘wrong’ with the individual. The social model is widely acknowledged to have played a significant role in shaping the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

Person-first language places a reference to the person before the reference to the disability. Examples of person-first language include terms such as ‘people with disabilities’, ‘person with autism’ and ‘person with an intellectual disability’. This approach seeks to emphasise that a person is first and foremost a human being entitled to human rights. Person-first language is favoured by the United Nations (UN) and appears within the UNCRPD. However, it is not a universally accepted approach.

The second common approach is often referred to as identity-first or social model language. Examples of this include terms such as ‘disabled person’ or ‘autistic person’.  Proponents of this approach state that person-first language reflects a medical model understanding of disability in which a person’s impairment is seen as separate from the person, and therefore something to be fixed or cured. Identity-first or social model language instead seeks to emphasise that people are disabled by barriers in the environment and in society, rather than their impairment. This shifts the focus from ‘fixing’ the individual towards creating a more inclusive society through changing attitudes and improving accessibility for all. The social model also acknowledges that disability is an important part of the person’s identity and can demonstrate a sense of pride in the disability experience.