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Mike wrote
> It seems to me that it is a primary and Genuine Occupational Qualificatio=
n
> that the person training others about understanding and applying the Soci=
al
> Model of Disability (especially to non-Disabled ""professionals"" and
> Disabled People seeking personal development, should be a person who has
> first hand experience of dealing with discrimination based on impairment.
>
I agree.
If a person can only draw upon an individual model of disability to
articulate their experience of disability they may not be able to think
about disabling barriers =AD they may not see beyond their impairments and
functional limitations.
If a person can use a social model of disability they may be in a position
to identify disabling barriers. However, even where a person has some idea
of disabling barriers this knowledge may manifest itself in three different
ways =8CPersonal=B9, Moral / Political=B9 and =8CProfessional / Technical .
Personal
Personal knowledge of disability, that is, knowledge gained from having an
impairment and experiencing disabling barriers.
Moral / Political
Moral or political knowledge of disability involves an understanding of how
and to what extent people with impairments are disabled by social
organisation; and an understanding of the political processes required to
bring about equality.
Professional / Technical
Professional or technical knowledge involves an understanding of those
aspects of social organisation that can disable people with impairments.
For example, managers may have knowledge of disabling policies and the
practical alternatives that can be employed to remove or reduce the
disabling effects of such policies. Architects and engineers may have the
knowledge to remove physical disabling barriers in the built environment.
Of course, in reality the different types of knowledge are not in neat
packages, for instance, a disabled manager may possess both personal and
professional / technical knowledge.
Experience of disabling barriers will be further enhanced by the extent to
which an individual participates in different forms of social organisation,
for example, politics, employment and leisure.
Regards
Alden
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