A Social Constructionist Approach to Disability: Implications for Special Education

Proponents of a social model of disability derive their arguments from social constructionism. They combine different disabling conditions under one term: disability. Subsequently, they apply the specific viewpoint of the disability rights social movement of people with physical disabilities to other conditions such as intellectual disabilities, autism, sensory disabilities, and emotional and behavioral disorders. Based on flawed premises and a romantic concept of social inclusion, special education is condemned as segregationist. The result is an unjust and uniform educational policy toward people whose disabilities are not physical.