Models of disability
Since the mid-1970s, there has been a conceptual shift in the way people with developmental disability are viewed. The focus previously was on disability (caused by disease, trauma or other events) as a feature of the person (the ‘medical model’), while disability is now viewed as a socially created problem (the ‘social model’).
The World Health Organization (WHO) has argued that both views have merit and work well together, and that disability is always an interaction between features of the person and features of the overall context in which the person lives. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) was developed to reflect this shift and acknowledge both models of disability1. The ICF has a more holistic view of disability, and is based on function, activity and participation in society.