This essay highlights and discusses models of disability reflected in two separate articles (Appendices A and B). I will identify the models of disability they represent. Both have been recently featured in the Guardian newspaper and are stories on disabled people.
Appendix A was reported some years ago but continues to evoke opinion and has featured again recently due to a similar case. ‘Ashley’ is a profoundly disabled girl, who at six years old has a mental age of 3 months. Her parents decided on controversial treatment for her, as her condition would not improve. Ashley has undergone surgery to remove her uterus and breasts, and for three years she received hormone treatment to keep her weight and height low. It is thought that the surgery will prevent menstrual cramps and prevent any discomfort on her breasts from wheelchair clasps. By keeping her lightweight and small it will be easier for her parents to move her and continue to include her with the family outings. This article represents the ‘Medical Model’ of disability as her medical disability is a central underlying aspect of the piece. Rieser and Mason (1992) suggest that medical approaches to impairment are to ‘individual objects’ and that they are ‘treated’ and made more ‘normal’. Her medical condition disempowers her and she is dependent on others to care for her. I don’t think that the procedures she has undergone have been to make her life more normal but for her to fit in with her parent’s approach of care. It could therefore be argued that her parents are by trying to include her in normal family practices entertaining a Social Model to her disability. However, their reasons could be seen as selfish, to help themselves.
Norman Kunc (1995), in an interview on disability and rights, suggests that many people in society wrongly assume that if you make life easier then quality of life will improve. Ashley’s life is qualitative; she likes to listen to music and is alert to her...