Defining Disability

When working with people with disabilities, it is important to understand that our legal definitions of disability do not provide a complete understanding of what disability is.

• The limitations of legal definitions
  While these definitions may be helpful to ensure some protections, rights, and services, they do not reflect the myriad experiences, identities, perspectives, and histories held by the individuals in this collective community.
• Disability justice
  Disability justice moves beyond legal definitions and recognizes disability as a social, cultural, and political experience that intersects with race, gender identity, sexuality, class, migration status, religion, body size, neurodiversity, and other lived experiences. In addition, disability justice focuses on examining disability and ableism as they relate to other forms of oppression and identity. When seen from a disability justice framework, disability is a broad and fluid concept that goes beyond medical or clinical definitions.
• The role of context
  It is also critical to understand past and present contexts of disability to better understand the ways in which we define this term, as well as how those definitions evolve. Because society can define disability in several different ways, we now have several “models” of disability that can inform how we understand and respond to it.

In the United States, the most dominant models of disability are the medical and social models, though there are others. Brief definitions of each model are listed below.

• Social model
  Disability is understood as a result of inaccessible environments and societal structures, not as an individual issue. This model emphasizes how society can address these systemic barriers, rather than fixing the person.
• Affirmative model
  Building on the social model, this view rejects the notion of disability as tragic and normalcy as the ideal. It frames disability as an identity, like race or gender, and stresses the importance of valuing the lived experiences and perspectives of disabled people.
• Medical model
  Disability is seen as an individual, medical, or biological impairment that needs to be diagnosed and treated. U.S. law, policy, and healthcare often uses this model, focusing on remediation of the disability’s functional impact on the individual.
• Political-relational model
  This model challenges the oversimplified divide between the medical and social models, highlighting how disability is both a personal and political experience shaped by societal structures, medical care, and access.
• Economic model
  This model frames disability based on an individual’s contributions to a national or local economy. This is used to reference SSI (Supplemental Security Income) or SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) determinations and is often used by policymakers to determine benefit amounts.
• Charity model
  This model focuses on providing aid or charity to people with disabilities rather than addressing systemic barriers or promoting empowerment. It often emphasizes pity and dependence on others for care and support, rather than considering how to foster independence or inclusion.

Important note
Some of these models perpetuate negative stereotypes of disability, framing disability only as the ability to contribute to society based on set standards or norms.

The most accepted model of disability currently is the social model of disability. We choose to highlight other models to inform and provide perspective about how the disability community has commonly been viewed in larger society.

Finally, it is important to consider the following when thinking about disability:

• Not all disabilities are visible or apparent.
• Not all disabled people identify as disabled or claim disability as a personal identity or experience.
• Honor the way in which an individual defines disability for themselves and the language they use and claim.
• Follow the lead of the disability community as these understandings and definitions of disability evolve over time.