Rehabilitation Psychology: The Four Major Models Of Disabilities

The present paper attempts to highlight the concept of rehabilitation and rehabilitation psychology with the primary focus on the rehabilitation of people, the goals, process, the professionals involved, competence requires as well as problems faced in the rehabilitation are described. The emerging field as rehabilitation psychology emphasizes on the types of intervention programs, activities, outcomes, applications and services given. The most essential aspect of rehabilitation being disability, therefore focus has been given on the definition and classification of disability along with a glimpse on the causes. The major models of disability have been discussed with major concern on the causes of disability and the beliefs associated with

Other comprehensive range of causes of disability are wars, civil conflicts, accidents , poverty, overcrowding, unhygienic conditions, natural disasters ,resources limitation , geographical distance, stress and psycho-social problems (NHRC 2005). Models of Disability
A model is defined as an essential system, shaped by ideas and is used to bring out the meaning from the information as well as to organize these ideas and theories (Coleridge 1993). It encloses specific knowledge and assumes link between data. The paper outlines the assumptions of models and examines the consequences of these models of thought for disabled people and for the rehabilitation professions. The core of all definitions of disability is that it results from some kind of barrier and there exists a difference in the locus of this barrier.
Moral /Religious Model of

Apart from impairment disability is imposed on top because of unnecessary social exclusions and isolations from complete participation in societal roles. (UPIAS 1976p 3–4) The social model was consequently adopted by Disabled People’s International (Siminski 2003). In this model disability is viewed as socially experiencing an impairment due to social and physical barriers(Barnes 1991 p 2)whereas impairment refers to perceived abnormalities of mind or body be it ascribed or real(Barnes 2003 p 829) Therefore, disability refers something wrong with society and not to something with an individual rather (Oliver 1996a p 129).The model implies to cure, change or fix the individuals, especially when it is discriminatory and prejudiced and against the wishes of the disabled person. The problem or disability is caused by the way society responds to the needs of the disabled person. It recognizes that people with impairments are disabled by the barriers, prejudice and exclusion by society. Thus all the things that impose restrictions on disabled people ranging from individual prejudice to institutional discrimination, from inaccessible public buildings to unusable transport systems, from segregated education to excluding work arrangements, and so on’ (Oliver 1996a p 33). Thus, changes in social attitudes, social support, information, physical structures is required because