Rethinking Disability: Why the Social Model is Key to Dismantling an Ableist World

Imagine James, who is blind, confidently navigating his way through a train station with his cane. He’s on his way to meet a friend and knows the route well, but the station presents challenges: there’s no tactile paving to guide him, and the signs lack braille or audio cues. While James is perfectly capable of getting where he needs to go, the design of the space makes his journey unnecessarily difficult. It’s not his blindness that’s the issue—it’s the station’s failure to be accessible to everyone. This story echoes similar stories of buildings with stair access only to a dance floor, assuming people with mobility devices will not or can’t dance. Or designing signs for information only that are complex versus prioritizing clarity and understanding for people of all reading and problem solving levels.

These situation highlight a deeper truth: disability often stems not from an individual’s condition, but from barriers that society creates. By exploring the moral, medical, social, and human rights models of disability, we can see why the social model is key to addressing ableism and building a more inclusive world for all.

The Moral Model: Blame and Stigma

In the past, disability was explained through the moral model. If someone was born with a disability or developed one later in life, it was often seen as a punishment for sin or wrongdoing. Disability was then a reflection of the individual or families thoughts, karma, or failed beliefs. The moral model tied disability to shame, and families often faced judgment or exclusion. This mentality can be seen in some societies around the world and is expressed by largely not seeing people with disability in society but instead tucked away at home.

Although in the US we are largely past this thinking thanks to the advocacy work of people with disabilities and the investment in adaptive technology, it can be seen in other cultures the moral model planted seeds of stigma that can still be felt today.

The Medical Model: The Push to "Fix"

As we moved into the 19th and 20th centuries, the medical model became dominant. Now imagine that same child with a disability, but instead of being shunned, they’re surrounded by doctors and specialists trying to “fix” them. The medical model views disability as an impairment within the person, something that requires treatment or correction. It places the responsibility on the individual to adapt or conform to the so-called “normal” way of functioning.

While the medical model has led to important advancements in healthcare and rehabilitation, it can also be harmful. It treats people as broken or incomplete if they don’t meet a medical standard of normalcy. This way of thinking reduces people to their diagnosis and overlooks the richness of human diversity. Not everyone needs to be “fixed,” and many don’t want to be.

The Social Model: Change the World, Not the Person

The social model of disability turns this thinking upside down. Instead of asking, “What’s wrong with this person?” it asks, “What’s wrong with our society that makes life harder for them?” According to this model, people aren’t disabled by their bodies or minds—they’re disabled by the barriers that society builds, whether physical (like steps with no ramps) or attitudinal (like seeing disability as a tragedy).

For the man struggling with his wheelchair in the city, the problem isn’t his legs. The problem is that the world was built with able-bodied people in mind. The social model says we should change this man made world around him—by building ramps, designing accessible spaces, and making sure that environments are welcoming to all people, regardless of ability using Universal Design principles.

This model gives people with disabilities power. It shifts the responsibility from the individual and places it squarely on society to change its structures, designs, and attitudes.

The Human Rights Model: Dignity for All

The human rights model builds on the social model, emphasizing that people with disabilities have the same rights and dignity as anyone else. It calls for full inclusion in society, not just in terms of access, but in decision-making and opportunity. This model moves beyond just creating ramps or accessible buses—it’s about ensuring that people with disabilities can live with the same rights, respect, and opportunities as everyone else. Often the Human Rights model and the Societal model overlap, as in the Americans with Disability Act that provided the right for freedom of discrimination for people with disabilities, and also creating standards to improve access to public spaces.

Conclusion: Shaping a Society for All

How you view disability shapes your action. If you view disability in the moral model, you will not be moved to make changes as you view it as a representative of the person’s individual qualities. If you see it as a medical model, you may invest in medical technology but will not be moved to make life easier for people currently with disabilities as you are so focused on needing to “fix” them. But the social and human rights models of disability show us that the problem isn’t with the individual—it’s with society. We create the barriers. We perpetuate the ableism.

The good news is, if society can create these barriers, we can break them down. The world was built by people, and we can rebuild it to be inclusive of everyone. That is my mission here and I hope you will join me in this by identifying barriers in your work and adventure spaces, and take action steps to break them down.

If you are interested in getting help to identify these barriers, please contact me HERE. Looking forward to working with you to make important changes in your community!