Editing Disability (section)

=== Medical model ===
{{Main|Medical model of disability}}

The [[medical model]] views disability as a problem of the person, directly caused by disease, trauma, or other health conditions which therefore requires sustained medical care in the form of individual treatment by professionals. In the medical model, management of the disability is aimed at a "cure", or the individual's adjustment and behavioral change that would lead to an "almost-cure" or effective cure. The individual, in this case, must overcome their disability by medical care. In the medical model, medical care is viewed as the main issue, and at the political level, the principal response is that of modifying or reforming [[healthcare]] policy.{{sfn|Nikora|Karapu|Hickey|Te Awekotuku|2004|p=5}}{{sfn|Donovan|2012|p=12}}

The medical model focuses on finding causes and cures for disabilities.

==== Causes ====
There are many causes of disability that often affect basic [[activities of daily living]], such as eating, dressing, transferring, and maintaining [[personal hygiene]]; or advanced activities of daily living such as shopping, food preparation, driving, or working. However, causes of disability are usually determined by a person's capability to perform the activities of daily life. As Marta Russell and Ravi Malhotra argue, "The '[[medicalization]]' of disablement and the tools of classification clearly played an important role in establishing divisions between the 'disabled' and the 'able-bodied.{{'"}}{{sfn|Russell|2019|page=4}} This positions disability as a problem to be solved via medical intervention, which hinders our understanding about what disability can mean.

<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Krause |first1=Niklas |last2=Frank |first2=John W. |last3=Dasinger |first3=Lisa K. |last4=Sullivan |first4=Terry J. |last5=Sinclair |first5=Sandra J. |date=2001-09-25 |title=Determinants of duration of disability and return-to-work after work-related injury and illness: Challenges for future research |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajim.1116 |journal=American Journal of Industrial Medicine |volume=40 |issue=4 |pages=464–484 |doi=10.1002/ajim.1116 |pmid=11598995 |issn=0271-3586}}</ref> For the purposes of the [[Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990]], the US [[Equal Employment Opportunity Commission]] regulations provide a list of conditions that should easily be concluded to be disabilities: [[amputation]], [[attention deficit hyperactivity disorder]] (ADHD), [[autism]], [[bipolar disorder]], [[blindness]], [[cancer]], [[cerebral palsy]], [[deafness]], [[diabetes]], [[epilepsy]], [[HIV/AIDS]], [[intellectual disability]], [[major depressive disorder]], [[mobility impairment]]s requiring a wheelchair, [[multiple sclerosis]], [[muscular dystrophy]], [[obsessive–compulsive disorder]] (OCD), [[post-traumatic stress disorder]] (PTSD), [[spina bifida]], and [[schizophrenia]].<ref name="FR">{{cite web |year=2011 |title=Regulations To Implement the Equal Employment Provisions of the Americans With Disabilities Act, as Amended |url=https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2011/03/25/2011-6056/regulations-to-implement-the-equal-employment-provisions-of-the-americans-with-disabilities-act-as |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822130008/https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2011/03/25/2011-6056/regulations-to-implement-the-equal-employment-provisions-of-the-americans-with-disabilities-act-as |archive-date=August 22, 2016 |access-date=January 9, 2019 |website=Federal Register}}</ref>

This is not an exhaustive list and many injuries and medical problems cause disability. Some causes of disability, such as injuries, may resolve over time and are considered ''temporary disabilities''. An ''acquired disability'' is the result of impairments that occur suddenly or chronically during the lifespan, as opposed to being born with the impairment. ''[[Invisible disabilities]]'' may not be obviously noticeable.

==== Cures ====
The medical model focuses heavily on finding treatments, cures, or rehabilitative practices for disabled people.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1515/9780271085296-002 |chapter=The Rhetorical Dimensions of Ableism |title=Ableist Rhetoric |date=2019 |pages=1–25 |isbn=978-0-271-08529-6 |s2cid=242299440}}</ref>

===== Assistive technology =====
{{Main|Assistive technology}}
[[Assistive technology]] is a generic term for devices and modifications (for a person or within a society) that help overcome or remove a disability. The first recorded example of the use of a [[prosthesis]] dates to at least 1800 BC.<ref>{{cite web |title=Disability Social History Project&nbsp;– Timeline |url=http://www.disabilityhistory.org/timeline_new.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170901075055/http://www.disabilityhistory.org/timeline_new.html |archive-date=September 1, 2017 |access-date=August 11, 2012 |publisher=Disabilityhistory.org}}</ref> The [[wheelchair]] dates from the 17th century.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Cooper, Rory A |title=An Introduction to Rehabilitation Engineering |author2=Hisaichi Ohnabe |author3=Douglas A. Hobson |publisher=CRC Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-4200-1249-1 |page=131}}</ref> The [[curb cut]] is a related structural innovation. Other examples are [[standing frames]], text [[telephones]], accessible [[Keyboard (computing)|keyboards]], [[large print]], [[braille]], and [[speech recognition]] [[software]]. Disabled people often develop adaptations which can be personal (e.g. strategies to suppress tics in public) or community (e.g. [[sign language]] in d/Deaf communities).

As the [[personal computer]] has become more ubiquitous, various organizations have formed to [[software development|develop software]] and [[computer hardware|hardware]] to make computers more accessible for disabled people. Some software and hardware, such as [[Voice Finger]], [[Freedom Scientific]]'s ''[[JAWS (screen reader)|JAWS]]'', the Free and Open Source alternative ''[[Orca (assistive technology)|Orca]]'' etc. have been specifically designed for disabled people while other software and hardware, such as [[Nuance Communications|Nuance]]'s [[Dragon NaturallySpeaking]], were not developed specifically for disabled people, but can be used to increase accessibility.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unh.edu/diversity-inclusion/student-accessibility|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150408025058/http://www.unh.edu/disabilityservices/dragon-naturally-speaking|url-status=dead|title=Student Accessibility Services: Dragon Naturally Speaking|archivedate=April 8, 2015|website=University of New Hampshire}}</ref> The [[LOMAK]] keyboard was designed in New Zealand specifically for persons with disabilities.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sobh |first=Tarek |url=https://archive.org/details/innovationsadvan00sobh_587 |title=Innovations and Advanced Techniques in Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering |publisher=Springer |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-4020-6268-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/innovationsadvan00sobh_587/page/n190 176] |url-access=limited}}</ref>
The World Wide Web consortium recognized a need for International Standards for Web Accessibility for persons with disabilities and created the [[Web Accessibility Initiative]] (WAI).<ref>{{cite web |title=Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) |url=http://www.w3.org/WAI/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080904094012/http://www.w3.org/WAI/ |archive-date=September 4, 2008 |access-date=January 29, 2013 |publisher=W3C}}</ref> As at Dec 2012 the standard is WCAG 2.0 (WCAG = Web Content Accessibility Guidelines).<ref>{{cite web |title=Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 |url=http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218045254/http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/ |archive-date=February 18, 2011 |access-date=January 29, 2013 |publisher=W3C}}</ref>