What do We Mean by Normal?

Being normal is perceived as belonging to a certain class or group. Individuals view those who are unlike them as not belonging to the norm. People may be viewed as normal for example if they speak the Standard English or are white. On the other hand, the coloreds will be viewed as to belong outside from the norm. Also, abilities are viewed as normalcy. People who have the usual abilities are regarded as normal while those who do not are regarded as otherwise.

Those who use the medical model view disability as a problem of the disabled individual. According to the medical model, disability is intrinsic and only affects the disabled individual. The medical model views the disability that may be caused by disease as a disabling factor for the individual. The medical factor campaigns for the cure of the disability or the adjustment of the individual or a behavioral change that would lead to a cure or an almost cure of the disability. The medical model therefore campaigns for the management of the disability.

The medical model benefits the rest of the society. First, since the medical model sees the problem as one that should only affect the individual, measures are not to be taken to make life easier for the disabled. In some cases, rehabilitation is seen as a solution to remove the effect completely from other individuals. The medical model also does not see the need to create laws for the protection of the disabled. For this reason, they are often segregated and left uncared.

Disability is dependent on the context in which it is taken. A person is only disabled in certain situations. In some contexts the disability does not count as a disability. A good example where this would apply is in a situation where a disabled person with a wheel chair finds a flight of stairs. His disability is arisen by the context of having the stairs. Another context is a case where a normal person goes to a society of the blind. In this case, having the ability to see in this case may be regarded as a disability. In the same context, the inability to see is not regarded as a disability. The context of culture may also be used to translate disability. A person who speaks another language may be regarded as disabled if he cannot communicate in the standard language.

The medical model does not create measures to ease the consequences of disability. For this reason, it would be expected that there would not be policies that would seek to make school life more bearable. In the school context, a lecturer may print notes with a very small font hence making it difficult for someone who has poor sight to read. For the medical model, the problem would not belong to the system but to the individual. In a similar context, while other models would justify the creation of a stair rails for the disabled.

Secondly, the mechanisms that would be put up would be of looking at the individual and trying to cure the disability. For some disabilities, this would not be helpful. Instead, the measures would only count as a waste of funds and resources. Thirdly, the medical model is not developmental. For this reason, the disabled would only try as much as is possible within their means. For a student who finds a flight of stairs, he would have to skip such classes if they cannot climb the stars.