The Social Model of Disability

 

I remember the first time I read about the Social Model of Disability and I could not help but imagine living in such a utopia.  The social model of disability arose in the 1970's and was met with hostility among the 'normal', as the model argued people are disabled by discrimination and prejudice, not their impairments.  

In this model, a disability is the social restriction placed on individuals with impairments by society, therefore putting emphasis on an individual's impairments, alters the individuals instead of society.  It made sense to me why our society values 'normal' in such a high regard the very moment I read about the social model of disability, why 'normal', was so coveted and needed in society regardless of the cost, because if there was no 'normal', there could be no 'different', and without 'different', there could be no discrimination or prejudice, but most importantly: NO POWER HOLD.

Society's obsessive and uncanny hold on classifying every existence into the simplistic categorizes of 'normal' and 'abnormal' or rather 'accepted' and 'not accepted', is so ingrained in societal behavior there is no active acknowledgment to its existence, as it has always been and will always be, further allowing for the dismissal of anyone who would dare question or bring it into light with even the slightest degree of negativity.  You see, by allowing dyslexic individuals to just be the special they were born to be, the very traits and characteristics society chastises us for, would be the very tools we would use to overstep them in creating a utopia and per the rules of utopia- everything would be perfect, us included.

    FOR A BIGGER SCREEN

Upon reading such an evolution, Lyndon B. Johnson's voice levitated within me.  Johnson, a fellow dyslexic, spoke of such a utopia in his Great Society speech, a block of written words that have forever left an impact on my very being, having each memorized word represented by an emotional imprint within me.

While Lyndon B. Johnson's vision was clearly one beyond comprehension to many whose ears his message passed through, his legacy is one we all enjoy the privileges of today.  But whether your a Lyndon B Johnson fan or not- we can not deny the scarcity of such big and magnificent vision today, a growing void of emptiness in the world of dreamers & leaders radiating next level ambitions.  Even when they do surface in the midst of adversity, they are so often lost in the darkness of disbelief and cynicism so many embrace today.  

Today, the Great Society of the Future relies on our ability to mute our biases, shrink our stereotypes,  forgo our prejudices, and eliminate the discriminating paths currently engulfing our government, education system, judicial system, healthcare and society and this mission begins & ends with YOU!

by: Terra Engler