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The difference model of disability: A change in direction for vocational rehabilitation practice

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2020

Jonathon S. Breen Open the ORCID record for Jonathon S. Breen [Opens in a new window]  and
Susan Forwell
Jonathon S. Breen*
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Susan Forwell
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
*
*Corresponding author. Email: jon@jonbreen.ca
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Abstract

Vocational rehabilitation provides guidance and support to individuals with disabilities entering the workforce. Employment plans include considerations of goals, the job market, and pre-existing or trainable skills on the part of job seekers. This process also includes an understanding of the social forces that affect employment goals. Current models of disability include the medical, social, and embodiment models. Each is cognitively based and assumes an element of responsibility or blame, that is, respectively, focused on the individual with a disability, the community, or a combination of these two factors. The difference model of disability offers an alternative understanding of disability by providing an affect-based framework that eliminates the premise of blame. This conceptualization of disability provides a new approach to vocational rehabilitation.

Keywords

Disabilityemploymentrehabilitation practicetheorydifference model
Type
Articles
Information
The Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling , Volume 26 , Issue 1 , July 2020 , pp. 12 - 17
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press and The Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling

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