Relationships, Friendships, and Successful Social Communication: Addressing Disability

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (02) ◽  
pp. 166-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariella Nolfo ◽  
Marissa Montejano ◽  
Amy Donaldson

AbstractChildren with autism may perceive friendship in a qualitatively different manner than their neurotypical peers. Yet, these friendships have been reported as satisfying to the child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Although many studies have identified lower quality of friendship in ASD, reduced reciprocity, and increased loneliness and depression, perhaps it is time to take a closer look at the perspective of autistic individuals and to identify how the broader community influences development of relationships and friendship. The World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning framework aligns well with a social model of disability lens, which states that although individuals may be challenged by their health impairment, disability is created by barriers to access, agency, and independence in society. This article discusses how clinicians might examine ways to address disability within the home, school, and community to create opportunities for relationship and friendship development, while considering the definition of friendship from multiple perspectives.

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (23) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katerina Kazou

This article challenges the generally accepted view that the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 2006 (CRPD) is based on the ‘social model of disability’. The ‘social model’ understands disability as a social situation, and particularly a form of social oppression imposed on people with impairments, which is caused by social and environmental barriers that exclude them from participating in society and which is entirely distinguished from their individual impairment. The article argues that the definition of disability in the CRPD is closer to the definition provided in WHO’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). The ICF understands disability as the multi-dimensional and interactive experience of a wide range of difficulties in functioning; in particular, these difficulties include impairments, limitations in performing activities and restrictions in participating in life situations, and arise out of the complex interaction between health conditions, personal factors and barriers in the physical and social environment. Associating the CRPD with the ICF rather than the ‘social model’ might have positive implications for its implementation, as it can avoid the criticism faced by the ‘social model’ for its limitations, especially for considering impairment as being entirely irrelevant to the experience of disability, and therefore governments and policy makers might be less sceptical towards the CRPD and more willing to engage with it. At the same time, the valuable insights of the ‘social model’ regarding the disabling effect of social and environmental barriers can be retained, as the ICF recognises this too, but without ignoring the relevance of impairment to the experience of disability or minimising the health needs of persons with disabilities.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Cowan

Policy/Program Memorandum Number 140 outlines the requirements for Ontario school boards to incorporate principles of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) into school programs for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). With increasing numbers of children being diagnosed with ASD, it is important to assess the facilitators and barriers in implementing this policy, and work towards effective academic and social inclusion. Through individual interviews and follow-up questionnaires, four behaviour therapists provided their perceptions and experiences of ABA in the classroom. A thematic analysis yielded five main themes: reinforcement in the classroom, consistency, ABA and behaviours in the classroom, collaboration, and attributions. These themes are interpreted using a social model of disability and a children’s rights lens to answer the research question: what are the facilitators and barriers to the effective implementation of ABA in schools? Limitations, recommendations for future research, and practical recommendations are discussed. Key words: Applied behaviour analysis, PPM 140, autism spectrum disorder, inclusion, social model of disability


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Delia Ferri

Daouidi v Bootes Plus SL is one the latest decisions in which the CJEU has been directly confronted with the concept of disability in the realm of EU anti-discrimination legislation. In particular, in this judgment, the Court attempted to identify when the dismissal of a worker due to temporary incapacity of an unknown duration may constitute direct discrimination on the grounds of disability. This decision appears to be significant in that, for the first time, the CJEU discusses the meaning of ‘long-term limitation’ for the purpose of Directive 2000/78. Although the Court treads carefully, it attempts to further elucidate and bring new elements to the definition of disability in EU anti-discrimination law. In spite of the fact that the Court is potentially widening the notion of disability, it appears, once again, quite reticent in its approach to the role of social, environmental and attitudinal barriers in disabling an individual, and remains somewhat ‘trapped’ in the medical model of disability. All in all, this analysis endeavors to highlight that the CJEU is struggling to move beyond a rhetorical recognition of the social model of disability and to apply this in practice.


2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-35
Author(s):  
Silvia Favalli ◽  
Delia Ferri

In recent years the European Union (eu) has sought to develop a far-reaching policy regarding persons with disabilities. However, to date, eu non-discrimination legislation does not provide any clear legal definition of what constitutes a disability. The Court of Justice of the European Union (cjeu) has attempted to fill this gap and, in several decisions, has elaborated on the concept of disability and its meaning under eu law. The cjeu, with reference to the application of the Employment Equality Directive, has explained the notion of disability mainly by comparing and contrasting it to the concept of sickness. Against this background, this article critically discusses recent case law and attempts to highlight that, even though the Court has firmly embraced the social model of disability envisaged by the un Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the boundaries between the concepts of sickness and disability remain blurred.


Author(s):  
Yuling Hao ◽  
Peng Li

In order to promote the employment of persons with disabilities, two dominant legal approaches—anti-discrimination legislation based on the social model of disability and an employment quota scheme based on the medical model—are usually employed on a nation-state basis in disability policies. This article systematically examines the reasons why both the anti-discrimination and employment quota scheme legal frameworks have limited effectiveness in promoting employment of persons with disabilities in China. We found that the lack of a definition of disability, the lack of a definition of discrimination, and the absence of effective enforcement mechanisms are the reasons for poor outcomes of the anti-discrimination legal framework. For the employment quota scheme, conflicts between the mainstream labor market legal framework and the quota scheme legal framework have prompted employers to pay penalties rather than hire persons with disabilities. China should address these issues in the current legal system in the short term. Meanwhile, the CRPD should be more strongly emphasized in China. This article argues for the human rights model espoused by the CRPD, instead of the medical model, to develop a coherent and sustainable disability legal framework for promoting participation of persons with disabilities, rather than focusing on viewing them as recipients of care.


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (12) ◽  
pp. 94-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rupal Patel ◽  
Travis T. Threats

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices have opened the gates to interaction for those with severe communication impairments. In the assessment and intervention, all components of the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) should be addressed. However, an important Personal Factor to full integration has been largely ignored—that of one's voice. Each one of us has a unique voice that conveys our age, cultural background and personality—it's how people know and remember you. These affordances of the natural voice are not available to those who express themselves using AAC devices. A personalized digital voice brings the field of AAC to a closer realization of the social model of disability in which individuals are not defined by their disability and it is just one aspect of them. Access to a personalized voice uplifts the AAC user and provides an opportunity for social and emotional engagement that enhances quality of life.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Hilary Stace

<p>Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnoses have been rising rapidly in recent years and New Zealand is just one country grappling with the policy challenges this presents. Currently, love, such as a supportive family, and luck, that appropriate services are available, are required by people with autism and their families for good outcomes, a situation that is neither equitable nor sustainable. Autism was first named as a separate condition in 1943. The concept of autism has developed significantly since then in many ways, including as the cultural identity that many autistic adults now claim. Influenced by the international disability rights movement and local activism, New Zealand policy is now based on the social model of disability, whereby society as a whole has responsibility for removing disabling barriers. In 1997, a New Zealand mother, unable to find appropriate support at a time of crisis, killed her autistic daughter. A decade of policy work followed, leading to the 2008 publication of the New Zealand Autism Spectrum Disorder Guideline (Ministries of Health and Education, 2008) which is the first whole-of-spectrum, whole-of-life, whole-of-government, best practice approach in the world to address the extensive issues surrounding ASD. Prioritisation and initial attempts at implementation revealed new problems. The complexity, lack of simple solutions and fragmentation of autism policy indicates that this is a 'wicked' policy problem. To move beyond this situation requires innovative and collaborative approaches. The 'transformative paradigm' is a research methodology which builds on recent developments in participatory and emancipatory research, and disciplines such as disability studies. It advocates approaches based on mixed methods, social justice, ethics and partnership, so is particularly suited to examining a problem such as autism, and indicating ways forward. There is untapped expertise among those with lived experience of autism and their families to tackle the 'wicked' aspects of autism, but to harness this expertise requires relationship building which addresses power imbalances and past injustices. This thesis analyses New Zealand autism policy and suggests ways this lived experience could be better respected and incorporated into policy processes, in an attempt to move past the currently required variables of love and luck.</p>


Author(s):  
Michał Skóra ◽  

Disability is one of the greatest problems of modern society. It is a multidimensional phenomenon, as evidenced by numerous classifications and definitions of disability, created by representatives of various fields of science. The medical and social model of disability is adopted in the literature. Analyzing legal regulations, it should be stated that the social model of disability prevails, i.e. limitations concerning disabled people and their ability to function in society. The author describes the definition of disability on the basis of national legislation.


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