Medical Vs. Social Concepts

   One of the possible directions I may choose to pursue in Physical Therapy is working with patients who obtain disabilities. I attribute my motivation to this direction to my older brother Aaron. Aaron was born with Aspergers Syndrome and has been fighting the social struggles our society poses to him. Aspergers is defined by Autism Speaks online as, “an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) considered to be on the “high functioning” end of the spectrum. Affected children and adults have difficulty with social interactions and exhibit a restricted range of interests and/or repetitive behaviors.”. Due to his syndrome, Aaron has struggles getting past the barriers our modern society puts up to him.

   

   
     Growing up with Aaron was a great experience, but let me tell you it wasn't all that easy. Growing up side by side to Aaron let me develop social skills I would have never gained with out him. He taught me how to be silly in a world that requires straight faces and a mode of seriousness. Due to this, I believe that I can communicate well with people who are considered to be special needs. 

  

    In one of my classes this spring semester we are being taught how to work with people of special needs. Altering you're concept on what "special needs" truly means can also help you're relations with people who may obtain these so called "needs". The concept that hits home the most to me is The Medical Model of Disability Vs. the Social Model. If you were to look at Aaron, The Medical Model of Disability points to Aaron’s impairment as the problem. The Social Model blames society for putting up social barriers that is impossible for “special” people to do. I find these concepts to be very interesting because after growing up with Aaron, there is no doubt in my mind that the Medical Model had been used on him his whole life. Whether it be Aaron going to special schools rather than public schools, my father yelling at him to do something, or rather it be someone telling him to act a certain way. 

   

   
    In one of my essays in the class I previously mentioned  I wrote, "A prime example of the Medical Model being used on Aaron is, due to it almost being mandatory to be able to drive a car by society, his lack of motor vehicle operating skills. Everyone drives these days. It is pretty much required to have some type of transportation in order to get from home to work or other common grounds. Aaron does not have his license. This is because in most cases of Aspergers, “Motor development may be delayed, leading to clumsiness or uncoordinated motor movements.” (Autism Speaks) Due to Aaron's lack of motor skills he is pointed to as a bad driver who is unfit to receive his driving license. By not giving Aaron his drivers license, not to blame the DMV, society is pretty much disabling the possibility of Aaron getting a job that is more than a few miles from where he resides. Societies mandatory use of motor vehicles is in an essence taking away some of Aaron’s freedoms."

    

   In a later blog post I will inform on how one can effectively work on modes of physical therapy with a patient who obtains some type of disability. For now, consider the writing as some food for thought.