Towards Economic Empowerment for Disabled People: Exploring ...

Personal tragedy theory, therefore, is seen by various commentators as the
driving force behind the individual model of disability. An awareness of the
perceptions which embody personal tragedy theory is evident in the sentiments
expressed back in the 1960s by Paul Hunt, who had lived for several years in
segregated institutions. He wrote that people with impairments were regarded
as “unfortunate, useless, different, oppressed and sick” (1966, p3).
Despite the criticisms, the individual model continues to exert a powerful
influence, as evidenced by the continued existence of segregated services and
the widespread prevalence of charitable attitudes towards disability and
disabled people around the world today.
2.4 The Rise of the Social Model
Increasing dissatisfaction, often expressed by disabled people themselves, with
individual model perspectives, has led to the rise of the ‘social model of
disability’. The model has its origins within the UK disability movement of the
1970s, when a group of disabled people, including several that had been
involved in protests against institutional practices at the Le Court Cheshire
Home (Barnes & Mercer, 1997), came together to form the Union of the
Physically Impaired Against Segregation (UPIAS). The Union provides an
early example of an organisation of disabled people, which created a platform
for disabled people themselves to voice their concerns and opinions, rather
than having them represented by others.
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