During the 4^th lecture of Society and lifestyle module, we focused on having an understanding of what disability is and the importance of having awareness of disability. I feel that as a student teacher I should have a brief knowledge about all the different support needs as this will allow me to provide my students with the support they need in future placements. Every individual has a different definition of what disability is. According to the equality act 2010, a person who is disabled has a physical or mental impairment which has a long-term effect on their ability to carry out normal daily activities. Although many people have disability from birth, there is always a possibility to acquire disability at any point in our lives.

The society we live in is very diverse; it contains people with different cultures, religions and abilities. In today’s diverse society, people hold different views and attitudes towards others who are different to them. In the past, people with disability have been treated very unfairly; in some societies people with disabilities were killed due for various reasons such as superstitions, religious beliefs and economics.  However, from the 1950s the disability rights movement started and people started to acknowledge that there needs to be a change in society to allow people with disability to fit in. People who supported the disability rights movement argued that it was the society who disabled physical and impaired people.

During the lecture, we also looked into the social and medical model of disability. The social model of disability argues that it is the society’s fault that people are disabled; the social model states that changes within society should be brought in to reduce the barriers that minimize the abilities of those who have support needs. The medical model holds the opposite view, they argue that it is the individual’s fault and not the society’s.

In my view, Providing an awareness of disability within school environment is vital as it allows our students to have a understanding that regardless of the differences anyone has, every individual should be treated fairly.

From today’s lecture and seminars, I feel that I have developed my understanding of how society treats people with disability. I could relate to most of the content as it is very relevant in today’s society.