Heading for Inclusive School in Europe
Duration: 70 minutes.
Reading sheets - 15 minutes,
Splitting into groupes and prestation of the task: 10 minutes,
15 minutes: group discussion,
10-15 minutes: group presentation on the forum;
15 minutes :summary.
The medical model is the most traditional way of perceiving a person with a disability, dominating the late 1960s. As part of this paradigm, a disabled person is treated not as a human being (subject), but as a "medical case", as a subject of doctors' and medical staff's procedures.
The social model (developed since the 1990s) is based on the idea of human rights and promotes the full participation of people with disabilities in social life. Within the civic paradigm, a person with a disability is treated as a subject; it is recognized that he/she should benefit from all the opportunities enjoyed by every citizen. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an example of this reflection on disability. It introduces a new evolutionary definition of disability whereby the term "persons with disabilities" (Article 1) includes persons with long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory disabilities which, in interaction with various obstacles, may interfere with their full and effective participation in social life, on the principle of equality with others.
Conduct :
Provide the participants with the fact sheet: "From a medical model to a biopsychosocial model". Then ask the participants to list the different institutions, services, vocabulary operating under the medical or biopsychosocial model (the trainer writes the answers on the board).
Examples of social institutions and services (may vary depending on the country in which the training is provided): welfare homes, residential institutions, special schools, short breaks, respite services, daily centers for adults with disabilities, DSM classification, ICD classification, International Classification of Disability and Health ICF, supported employment, sheltered employment, sheltered housing, regular schools, early intervention centers, assistant to a disabled person, support teacher ...
Vocabulary: patient, client, citizen, taking charge, caring, support, disability, assisted decision-making, mental retardation, person with intellectual disability, definition of disability in the Convention, definition of disability in national legislation.
The task of participants split into groups of 3 to 4 people is to identify the institutions, services, words cited in the medical model and those that correspond to the biopsychosocial model.
Expected an :swers:
The goal is to make participants think about the fact that change in the definition of disability is a continuous process.
Some of the institutions, services or vocabulary (especially the terms in force in national legislation) continue to treat disability in medical terms. This is most often the case in institutions such as special schools, welfare homes and social welfare centers.
However, there are new models that can be used - written in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Attention should be paid to the ICF classification, which shows the functioning of a person with a disability as part of a new biopsychosocial model.
Services such as employment assistance, personal help or assisted decision-making also promote self-determination and a full integration of people with disabilities into social life.
Participants should be aware that language creates awareness, so it is so important to use vocabulary that does not stigmatize or empower people with disabilities. A disabled person is no more a patient, a disabled person, a challenging pupil and becomes a citizen who, in order to live in harmony with his potential, receives adequate support to make independent decisions about his own life.
Born in the 1960s in the United States, the upward movement of "Disability pride" is a sign that people with disabilities want to decide for themselves and are able to fight for their civil rights. Currently, specialists are no longer the only ones who know what is "good" for them and what they need to develop their potential and improve their quality of life. This change in the approach to defining disability permeates and slowly shapes legislation in partner countries. In some countries, it is more visible in others, less so. However, over time, all countries will have to adapt the legislation to standards guaranteeing equality to people with disabilities.
