Challenges to the Biomedical Model of Disability

Abstract

“All too often, the way we see the problem (meaning our explanatory paradigms), is the problem” (Harper, 1991, p. 534). Models of disability provide definitions of disability, offer the explanation for the cause of the disability, and present the solution or treatments based on the perceived needs of the individual with a disability. Presently, there are challenges to the Biomedical Model of Disability. Proponents of the Sociopolitical Model of Disability define disability as a loss or limitation of opportunity brought about by social and physical barriers and, therefore, the appropriate solutions are the transformation of policies, laws, and public attitudes. The Biomedical Model considers pathology, impairment, or dysfunction to cause disability, while scholars and disability advocates who subscribe to the Sociopolitical Model assert that it is society that disables people who have impairments. Moreover, advocates of the Sociopolitical Model believe that much of the prejudice and discrimination experienced by people with disabilities occurs not in spite of the Biomedical Model, but because of the Biomedical Model. Indeed, Harlan Hahn (1985, 1988, 1993) termed the Biomedical Model of Disability a “metahandicap, ” while others state the search for the origins and causes of prejudice against people with disabilities inevitably leads back to the Biomedical model. The specific challenges to the Biomedical Model include: 1) This model relieves society of any

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