Skip to main content
Universal Design for Learning
Equity Education and Anti-Oppression Frameworks

Disability and Variability

Understanding disability from this theoretical position shifts the focus from individual pathology to the social experience of individuals. Critical Disability StudiesOpens in a new window arose from activism that recognizes that having a collective identity can help fight discrimination and oppressionOpens in a new window. The social modelOpens in a new window does not presume that the experience of disability is a single or uniform experience. The social model also does not assume that the individual characteristics of people experiencing disability are the same. It acknowledges that many disabilities are invisible and that accessibility support frictionOpens in a new window can exist. Internationally, there is a growing disability movement, and this movement embraces a disability identity that is positive. However, it is important to recognize that each individual will have their own personal connection to their disability and how one chooses to identify has to do with personal preference and how they have navigated systems and institutions that have often excluded them from participating equally.

Learner diversity represents a wide spectrum that includes not just students with disabilities, but also international students, culturally diverse learners, racialized students, Indigenous students, LGBTQ2S+ students, and first-generation students.

Fovet, 2021

Making more visible the tenacity required to navigate systems and institutions that often exclude participation challenges the dominant stereotype about disability we discussed earlier. It is important for educators to develop an understanding of disability that is focused on self-worth and pride, and to ensure positive reflections that welcome, engage, and embrace the diversity of disability. This makes visible a conscious shift from accommodating to normalizing disability.

The term diversityOpens in a new window, in the context of this module and course, is used to indicate not only that variability is present, but that this variability (in backgrounds, orientations, and identities that may be different from one’s own) is genuinely welcomed, appreciated, and valued. Diversity can be understood through this definition from the Oxford language dictionary, eloquently broken down and interpreted by Dyslexia BytesOpens in a new window.

A definition of diversity from The Oxford Languages Dictionary and reimagined by Dyslexia Bytes, a dyslexia advocacy organization. Some words have been placed in boxes. These boxes are connected by a line to short phrases that expand the definition. These short phrases have been placed in parentheses here. The definition reads: 

The quality (high standard) of including (be genuinely welcoming) people from a range (many and varied) of different (unlike mine) backgrounds (circumstances they do not control) and orientations (natural modes of being).

Politically and psychologically our power will come from celebrating who we are as a distinct people. I am not content being a pale version of the majority culture. I want to be a strong version of something else – different but equally valid.

Gill, 1994

The importance of visibility is also characterized by the individuals who share their views in this mini-documentary. The mini-documentary profiles the reasons why these individuals prefer to use particular language to describe their disability. Specifically, this video highlights the debate over person-firstOpens in a new window versus identity-first language.

In Focus10:41 min

Hosted by Laura Bain, In Focus covers some of the biggest controversies surrounding disability language with an expert panel that includes Michelle McQuigge of The Canadian Press and journalist, writer, and activist Andrew Pulrang.

Reflect

Having heard first-person perspectives on the issue of language and identity, what are ways you might create a welcoming and inclusive environment where personal preference around use of language is honoured to encourage greater engagement?

Critiques of the Social Model

It is important to note that some have critiqued binary models of disability. The complexity of disability – as a physical, psychological, social, and cultural phenomenon – isn’t fully contained in either the social or medical models. While the medical modelOpens in a new window is most commonly the object of critique from the disability community, the still-developing social modelOpens in a new window is not without its own flaws. ScholarsOpens in a new window have pointed out that the social model’s insistence on separating disability from impairment denies the lived experienceOpens in a new window of individuals and the role their impairments play in their daily lives. The social model has also been critiqued for its lack of intersectional voices. In order to foster engagement, we need to not only provide multiple means of engagement that recruit interest but also reinforce equitable learning outcomes that come from anti-oppressiveOpens in a new window and antiracistOpens in a new window practice.

Newer modelsOpens in a new window of disability attempt to respond to these critiques. For example, the social-relational model recentres the role of disability in an individual’s life, proposing that disability is a product of relationships between disabled and non-disabled people and the social power dynamic that results. To learn more about how this power dynamic might play out, read the article “Breaking a Disabled LimbOpens in a new window” by Isaac Stein, which describes a first-person account and exemplifies these social-relational structures.

Matching activity

Perspectives of Disability

Instructions

Match the correct name with its corresponding definition.

If using a mouse, trackpad, or touch device, drag a name from the names group and drop it on to a definition.

If using a keyboard or screen reader, press the tab key to highlight the names dropdown list within a definition. Press space to open the answer list, and the Up arrow / Down arrow keys to navigate the list.

If the name you select is incorrect keep trying!

Names
Definitions
Next sectionEngagement Principle Through an Antiracist and Anti-Oppressive Practice Lens