Why Disability Studies Matters

            I am about to graduate from the Master’s program in Disability Studies. I am also thrilled to have been asked to teach in the brand new on-line Bachelor’s program in Disability Studies.  As I transition from student to teacher of Disability Studies, I have been thinking about what I’ve learned over the course of 10 semesters of study that I want to pass on to others. 

            Most of us who work in the disability field chose our professions out of a desire to help others.  I support people with developmental disabilities, and like many others I came to it by chance; I had an opportunity in college to spend time with developmentally disabled individuals and I recognized an opportunity to make a difference by helping an underserved population that I also genuinely liked and enjoyed being around.  However, Disability Studies has taught me that all too often this desire to help, and the ways in which we provide it, is informed by the traditional understanding of disability as a medically defined condition.  Despite the rhetoric of person centered planning and individualized supports, we tend to think of ourselves as caregivers; an us/them, helper/helped relationship.  The Disability Studies Program helps shift this perspective because at its core it rejects the medical model as the foundation for understanding disability.  I know it gave me the tools to better understand disability as a social and cultural issue, and to be able to recognize and address the pervasive discrimination that continues to exist against people with disabilities despite the existence of civil rights laws.  

            The social model of disability says that disabled people are unable to participate fully in society not because of limitations stemming from physical or psychological impairment, but because of limitations imposed upon them by society.  Since the 1970s, the social model has been adopted by disability rights activists and academics as the dominant theory of disability.  The Disability Rights Movement has won substantial social change in this country and around the world.  The ADA and other anti-discrimination laws have immeasureably changed and improved the lives of many by granting access to parts of society that were formerly inaccessible.  Because of increased inclusion, non-disabled people now have much more contact with disabled people, which has led to a decrease in the negative feelings toward them. 

            Sadly, it is also true that the attainment of civil rights has in part been in name only.  The goal of the disability rights movement, which is to bring about social change and barrier removal, resulting in full participation in education, employment, health care, housing, technology, voting, and transportation, and all areas of civic life, is still far from being accomplished.  I believe that this is because outside of the disability rights community, the medical model still dominates.  Both subtle and blatant forms of discrimination, based on the attitude that disability is a defect, can be found everywhere.

            The following photo recently went viral after the child’s mother posted it in anger and frustration on her Facebook page:

This image speaks volumes about the continuing barriers to access and lack of inclusion.  That his teacher claimed he “didn’t see him” sitting off to the side while he conducted the concert also says a lot about the stigmatization of individuals with disabilities and the way it renders them invisible.  This photo is but one instance of discrimination that happened to be witnessed.  This photo is why Disability Studies matters.