This lesson introduces disability as a varied human experience and explores two influential ways of understanding it.
Disability is an experience of a condition that makes some activities more difficult or limits equitable access in a particular society. It can be physical, sensory, intellectual, developmental, cognitive, or mental, and a person may experience more than one type. Disabilities may be present from birth or acquired later in life. Some are visible; others are invisible and may not be apparent to other people.
All flashcards
Disability studies
An interdisciplinary field examining disability across history, culture, policy, law, ethics, and the arts.
Medical model of disability
A framework that locates disability primarily in an individual's health condition and emphasizes treatment or rehabilitation.
Person-first language
Language that names the person before the disability, such as “a person with a disability.”
Identity-first language
Language that describes someone as disabled, often reflecting disability as an identity or socially shaped experience.
Disability justice
A movement emphasizing intersectionality, collective liberation, and people marginalized within broader disability movements.
Quiz questions
What is a central purpose of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities?Answer: To treat disability as a human-rights issue and promote equal access.
What does intersectionality help explain in relation to disability?Answer: How identities and systems of power can combine to shape distinct experiences.
What is a defining emphasis of disability justice?Answer: Collective liberation and attention to people marginalized within disability movements.
What does the media trope called “inspiration porn” do?Answer: Presents disabled people as inspirational simply for having a disability.
How did industrialization often affect the economic valuation of disabled people?Answer: Standardized production demands could exclude people unable to meet them.
Based on the Wikipedia article Disability, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.