A sociological treatment exploring the medical model in relation to the neurodiversity movement with reference to policy and practice
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12889092 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Manuel Casanova (0000-0001-5129-6698, University of South Carolina, corresponding author), Cheryl J Widman (0000-0001-8035-2601, University of Illinois Chicago) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 363-381 |
| Publication date | 2021-03-30 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Evidence & Policy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1744-2648 • E-ISSN: 1744-2656 |
| Publisher | Policy Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1332/174426421x16142770974065 |
| OpenAlex | W3143060364 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 11 |
| References cited | 23 |
Background: The Medical Model of disability focuses on diagnosed conditions. It is used in policy particularly to categorise people. This enables predictions and forecasting about the size of policy needs but tends to homogenise disability representations, assigning a negative evaluation to illness that may be irrespective of patho-anatomical correlates. The Social Model considers disability as imposed by society through attitudes and barriers. The Neurodiversity Model is a type of social and cultural model with biological implications; it states that differences in brain and behaviour lie on a non-pathological spectrum. Critics say this whitewashes lived experience. Policymakers may devalue the Neurodiversity Model’s origins within activist neurodiverse communities. The model that policy and practice decision makers use has fundamental effects on their impacts. Aims and objectives: The Medical and Neurodiversity Models are reviewed in reference to their politicisation as ways to characterise disability, and identity politics. The implications socially and for disability policy and practice and evidence use are considered. Key conclusions: Both models fall short in addressing the needs of the broad community of the disabled, yet both have useful features. We propose the Biological Gradient Model (BGM), which integrates scientific theory while avoiding pathology-based concepts and value-laden judgments concerning ‘deficiency’. Its usefulness is demonstrated; it resolves some of the ambiguity and tensions that exist in the way people with disability are viewed by different groups and treated within policy. It has the potential to reduce issues of partial representation, where the voices of those who cannot self-advocate may be less heard
Ambiguity · Cognitive psychology · Political science · Politics · Psychiatry · Representation (politics · Social model of disability · Value (mathematics · Autism Spectrum Disorder Research · Disability Rights and Representation · Law · Mental Health and Patient Involvement · Psychology · Social Psychology
The impact of the disability movement against stigma
Online resources and educational materials relating to autism spectrum disorder
The philosophy of cognitive diversity
The many faces of disability in evidence for policy and practice
Academic Coverage of Online Activism of Disabled People
Toward a neuroinclusive culture
Is it easier to explore one’s identity as a minority? Determinants of neurodivergence and queerness acceptance
Judicial Perspectives on Neurodiversity in Queensland Courts, Tribunals and Commissions
First-person perspectives and scientific inquiry of autism
Neurodiversity, identity, and hypostatic abstraction
Neurodiversity in South African Education. A Study of Policy and Research on Autism and Attention‐Deficient/Hyper‐Activity Disorder
The Impact of Mental Illness Stigma on Seeking and Participating in Mental Health Care
Politics and Policy in the History of the Disability Rights Movement
The Politics of the Family
What Can Physicians Learn from the Neurodiversity Movement
Problems in doctor-patient communication
Making Sense of Madness
Social models of disability and other life strategies
Where’s the problem? Considering Laing and Esterson’s account of schizophrenia, social models of disability, and extended mental disorder
The social model of disability
Parental voices and controversies in autism
Uncovering the Hidden History of People with Disabilities
On Culpability and Crime
The War on Drugs That Wasn’t
Maintaining Professional Identity
The Social Model of Disability
Harmed patients gaining voice
Beyond blame
The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
Disability Worlds
Medical modernisation, scientific research fields and the epistemic politics of health social movements
Exploring the Meaning of 'Dissatisfaction' with Health Care
| Unique citing works | 11 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2,2 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2026 (6) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 11 |