What does it mean to be an inclusive society? Let’s look at the illustration below. Which one represents your community?

Source: https://www.playcore.com/inclusive-play-matters-1

The green dots represent the majority, whilst the colourful dots are the traditionally excluded groups.

What is the link between disability and inclusion?

The social model of disability is a way of viewing the world developed by disabled people. The model says that people are disabled by barriers in society, not by their impairment or difference. These barriers prevent inclusion.

Some people face more barriers to inclusion than others. These barriers include:

people’s attitudes - eg. assuming disabled people can’t do certain things
physical barriers - eg. buildings not having accessible toilets
economic barriers

These barriers stop full participation in society, hinder one’s skills from developing, and degrade one’s confidence over time. The social model helps us recognise and change the barriers that make life harder for disabled people.

The presence of these barriers is a violation of human rights too! Growing up without proper education and participation in the community, for instance, might mean a visually impaired person had to remain dependent on his/her family.

In the social model, society adapts to the individual:

Eg. A child with a visual impairment wants to read the latest best-selling book, so they can chat about it with their friends. The social model solution makes full-text recordings available when the book is published.

(scope.org.uk)

So -

let’s make resources to support skills development accessible,

let’s create a supportive social environment, and

let’s support every single person to live how they choose!

Together we can make an inclusive society.

What can I do?

Become a KEEN Buddy - sign up to be paired 1-1 with a young disabled person. Make a new friend and support them to get out into their community.

Be a Buddy

Final point - not everyone uses the social model to describe their experiences. Some people prefer the medical model, which says people are impaired by their disabilities or differences.