It's true that many disabilities are imperceptible to others. Others are visible but not registered by most as a disability. Think: impaired vision corrected with eyeglasses.
When we consider the difference in the way we interact with disabilities we *register* as disabilities and those we don't, it can help us understand the importance of the social model of disability.
For context, the social model stands in contrast to the medical model, which historically told us that there is a standard sort of person in which everything functions "right," and then there are people with inherent impairments, because they are measured against that standard. They are just disabled, regardless of context.
The social model of disability says people are often and largely disabled by their environments. Barriers are in place that limit mobility or pace, for instance, and we can remove those barriers or reinforce them. A wheelchair user who cannot get to a conference room on the second floor because the elevator is out of service is disabled by the staircase being the only access point to the second floor. I am a glasses-wearer, and have been effectively EN-abled by the investment our society has made in making sure that eyeglasses and contacts are readily available and accounted for. If my glasses were to break, I could likely acquire a new pair within a few hours anywhere I am likely to be. As a deeper example, this year I went kayaking in Spain and was handed a special lanyard to attach to my glasses so that I would not lose them—the kayaking company had thought about and invested in this proactively for everyone with glasses.
Do I have impaired eyesight? Yes. Is that a disability? Yes. Does the way we have invested in our environment to remove barriers for those with impaired vision impact the ways I move in the world? Immeasurably.
How might we look at, think about, or treat other disabilities if we made the investments to remove comparable barriers as a norm? How would the resulting lives disabled folks could live impact the way we see them vs. how we may perceive them now?
Credit to Imani Barbarin for reminding me that glasses-wearers are disabled in a recent talk of hers. I recommend checking out her work.
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So, what is it really like to have a disability? For Disability Pride Month and the anniversary of the ADA, NPR wants to hear from you. Share your stories about your experiences as a person with a disability.
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