The Social Model of Disability: Shifting from "What's Wrong" to "What's Missing"

Published: Friday, 9 January 2026
Category: Rights & Social Justice
Reading time: 7 minutes

Picture this: A person who uses a wheelchair arrives at your community centre for an appointment. There's a step at the entrance. They can't get in.

Here's the question that reveals everything: Is the problem that the person uses a wheelchair, or that the building has a step?

Your answer to this question determines whether you're thinking through a medical model or a social model of disability. And that distinction isn't academic—it shapes every interaction, every policy decision, and every service you design.

Two Ways of Understanding Disability

The Medical Model: "You Need Fixing"

The medical model sees disability as a personal problem located within an individual's body or mind. The focus is on diagnosis, treatment, cure, or rehabilitation. The goal is to make the disabled person as "normal" as possible.

Under this model, if a wheelchair user can't access a building, the problem is their wheelchair use. The solution is physiotherapy to help them walk, or accepting that they can't access certain spaces.

The Social Model: "The Environment Needs Fixing"

The social model, first articulated by disabled activists in the 1970s, makes a crucial distinction between impairment and disability.

Impairment is a physical, sensory, cognitive, or psychological difference. Someone might have paraplegia, be Deaf, have an intellectual disability, or experience psychosocial disability.

Disability is what happens when society fails to accommodate that difference. Disability is created by inaccessible buildings, information that's only available in one format, services designed for neurotypical people, or attitudes that exclude and devalue disabled people.

In our example, the step creates the disability. Remove the step—or add a ramp—and you remove the disabling barrier.

Why This Matters in Community Services

If you're working in community services, disability support, case management, or any helping profession, the model you're using—consciously or not—shapes everything:

What You See as the Problem

Medical model thinking: "This client has behaviours of concern that need managing."

Social model thinking: "This person is communicating distress in a way that makes sense to them. What's happening in their environment that's causing distress?"

Where You Direct Your Energy

Medical model approach: Focus on changing the individual through therapy, medication, or behaviour modification.

Social model approach: Focus on changing environments, systems, and attitudes to better accommodate people's needs and preferences.

How You Measure Success

Medical model: "The client is now able to..."

Social model: "We've removed barriers so the person can..."

The Social Model in Action

Let's look at how this plays out in everyday community work:

Example 1: Communication Access

Medical model approach:A person with limited verbal communication is sent to speech therapy to improve their speaking ability. If that doesn't work, they're seen as having a "communication deficit."

Social model approach: We provide multiple communication options—picture boards, AAC devices, yes/no cards, and extra time to respond. We train staff in diverse communication methods. The person isn't the problem; our narrow assumptions about communication are.

Example 2: Appointment Attendance

Medical model approach: A client with anxiety keeps missing appointments. They're labelled "non-compliant" or "not ready for help."

Social model approach: We ask: What about our appointment system creates barriers? Can we offer phone or video appointments? Different locations? Flexible times? Would a support person help? The system is the problem, not the person.

Example 3: Information Access

Medical model approach: Information is provided in a standard written format. People with intellectual disability or low literacy who can't access it are seen as having limited capacity.

Social model approach: We provide Easy Read versions, videos, audio formats, and face-to-face explanations. We design with accessibility from the start, not as an afterthought.

Common Misunderstandings About the Social Model

"So disability doesn't exist?"

No. Impairments exist, and some impairments involve pain, fatigue, or other challenges that wouldn't disappear even in a perfectly accessible world. The social model acknowledges this while also recognising that society adds unnecessary layers of disadvantage on top of impairment.

"Does this mean we can't support people to build skills?"

Not at all. The difference is in framing. Learning new skills or accessing therapy can be valuable—but the goal isn't to make someone "more normal." It's to support their goals and preferences, while simultaneously working to make the world more accessible.

"Isn't this just semantics?"

Language matters because it shapes thinking. When we say "wheelchair-bound" instead of "a person who uses a wheelchair," we're implying imprisonment rather than mobility aid. When we focus on what people "can't" do instead of what systems don't provide, we locate the problem in the wrong place.

Practical Steps: Embedding the Social Model in Your Work

1. Audit Your Language

Notice when you're using deficit-based language:

• "Suffers from..." → "Has" or "experiences"

• "Confined to a wheelchair" → "Uses a wheelchair"

• "Special needs" → "Access needs" or "support needs"

• "High functioning/low functioning" → Describe actual support needs

2. Question Your Defaults

When designing a service, event, or process, ask:

• Who is automatically included in this design?

• Who might be excluded?

• What assumptions have we made about "normal"?

• How could we design differently from the start?

3. Consult People with Disability

"Nothing about us without us" is a core principle of disability rights. When making decisions that affect people with disability:

• Involve people with disability in planning and decision-making

• Pay people with disability consultants and advocates for their expertise

• Listen when people with disability tell you something isn't working

• Don't assume you know what's best

4. Focus on Barrier Removal

Instead of asking "How can we help this person cope with barriers?" ask "How can we remove the barriers?"

This might mean:

• Advocating for policy changes

• Redesigning physical spaces

• Changing appointment systems

• Training staff in diverse communication methods

• Challenging ableist attitudes in your team

5. Recognise Multiple Identities

The social model must intersect with an understanding of how race, gender, class, sexuality, and other identities shape experiences of disability. An Aboriginal woman with disability faces different barriers than a white man with disability. Both face barriers, but they're not identical.

The Limits of the Social Model (Yes, There Are Some)

The social model has been critiqued, particularly by people with disability, for:

• Sometimes, minimising the real challenges of impairment (pain, fatigue, degenerative conditions)

• Not fully accounting for the experiences of people with intellectual or cognitive disabilities

• Potentially overlooking the pride some people feel in their disabled identity

• Being developed primarily by white men with physical disability, initially centring their experiences

These critiques have led to more nuanced approaches like the affirmative model(celebrating disability identity) and intersectional approaches that recognise how multiple identities interact with disability.

The point isn't that the social model is perfect—it's that it's infinitely better than the medical model for understanding disability as a civil rights issue.

What This Means for Your Practice Today

You don't need permission from your manager to start thinking through a social model lens. Here's what you can do today:

In intake and assessment: Ask "What barriers have you faced accessing services before?" not just "What's your diagnosis?"

In case notes: Write about barriers and access needs, not deficits. "Client requires written information in large print due to low vision", not "Client has vision problems."

In team meetings: When discussing a "difficult" situation, ask "What barriers might this person be facing?" before jumping to solutions focused on changing the individual.

In advocacy: Push for systemic change, not just individual accommodations. If three clients have struggled with the same barrier, that's a systems problem.

The Bigger Picture: Disability Justice

The social model is a foundation, but disability justice movements push us further. Disability justice, led by disabled queer and trans people of colour, asks us to:

• Centre the most marginalised people with disability

• Recognise disability as a natural part of human diversity

• Connect disability rights with other liberation movements

• Value interdependence and collective care

• Challenge capitalism and productivity as measures of worth

As community workers, we have a choice: We can continue seeing disability as an individual deficit requiring professional intervention, or we can join people with disability in challenging the systems and attitudes that exclude and devalue them.

The social model gives us a framework. What we do with it is up to us.

Key Takeaways

• The social model distinguishes impairment (physical difference) from disability (barriers created by society)

• Disability is created by inaccessible environments, inflexible systems, and ableist attitudes

• The medical model focuses on "fixing" individuals; the social model focuses on removing barriers

• Practical changes include auditing language, consulting people with disability, and designing for accessibility from the start

• The social model isn't perfect, but it's essential for understanding disability as a rights issue

Reflection Questions

• Where do you see the medical model showing up in your service or sector?

• What barriers might people with disability face accessing your service right now?

• What's one barrier you have the power to address?

• How comfortable are you being challenged by people with disability about your practice?

Further Learning

Ready to deepen your understanding of disability-inclusive practice? The Community Workers Hub offers:

• Understanding the Social Model of Disability in Practice- Practical applications for frontline workers

• Disability and Intersectionality- Understanding how multiple identities shape experiences

• Recognising and Responding to Ableism- Challenging exclusion in services and systems

Join The Hub to access evidence-based training designed for real-world community services.

Sarah Smallman is the founder of The Community Workers Hub and a passionate advocate for disability-inclusive, rights-based practice in community services.