Disability exclusion has stemmed from the belief that having a disability makes you ‘less than.’ In recent years, the disabled community has also been silenced by the popularised positivity movement that believes ‘the only disability is a bad attitude.’ Although on a surface level this statement sounds encouraging, both attitudes have the underlying message that it is up to the disabled community to change if they want to be part of society.

Disability activist Stella Young explained brilliantly the barriers that people with disability face are societal and that no amount of positivity will be able to break these barriers down.

To become an all-inclusive and accessible society we need to change the way we view disability and collaborate with the disabled community to break down barriers.

The social model vs the medical

So, how do we change our lens on disability? There are two models that view disability in vastly different ways: social and medical.

The medical model views disability as a consequence of a health condition, disease or accident that disrupts function. The model focuses on preventing or curing the condition. Here, disability is something ‘wrong’ that needs fixing to make a person more ‘normal’.

The social model of disability completely flips this perspective. It sees disability as the attitudinal, physical, systemic, communication, and technological barriers created by society. It does not deny the impact of an individual’s impairment, but it does seek to put the responsibility on society to accommodate people living with disability, rather than expecting the individual to accommodate for society.

Removing barriers in society

The social model of disability states that there are six different types of barriers people with disability face. Barrier removal requires expertise, collaboration, advocacy and legal backing. Everyone can play a part in educating themselves about these barriers and learn how to create new pathways to ensure our society is as accessible and inclusive as possible.

Attitudinal barriers

Attitudinal barriers are created by individuals who can only see the impairment and not the person with a disability. At its worst believing in the stigma attached to disability can result in bullying, isolation and even violence.

On the flip side of this, people can be incredibly patronising using people with disability as ‘inspirational porn.’ Although this belief has no malicious intent, people with disability do not exist to make others feel good. Being condescending can cause just as much damage as being purposefully hurtful.

Stella Young spoke about the effects different attitudes have on the disabled community in her 2014 TED Talk, “I’m not your inspiration, thank you very much.”

This barrier is the underlying issue of all the other barriers. People may be unaware of their negative attitudes which is why it is important to make a conscious effort to unlearn these stereotypes. Everyone is deserving of the same respect and rights no matter their disability.

Physical barriers

Physical barriers refer to environments that are inaccessible due to the way they were designed.

Examples include buildings with no wheelchair access, ineffective lighting that creates poor visibility for people with low vision, sidewalks that are too narrow for walking aids or doorknobs that are difficult to grasp for people with arthritis.

There is already a lot of change being made in this space, like the introduction of wheelchair-accessible beach mats and low sensory quiet hours at grocery stores. However, there is always more to be done. Architects, designers, builders, and town planners need to put accessibility first to ensure everyone can enjoy society, rather than a select few.

Systemic barriers

Systemic barriers are the laws, policies, practices, or strategies designed by the government or organisations that discriminate against people with disabilities.