Understand Models of Disability — iCan Qualifications Limited End-Point Assessment Health & Social Care Revision
This element explores the contrasting models of disability, such as the medical and social models, and their profound impact on individuals living with dem
Topic Synopsis
This element explores the contrasting models of disability, such as the medical and social models, and their profound impact on individuals living with dementia. It examines how these theoretical frameworks influence personal identity, shape lived experiences, and drive the design and delivery of person-centred care services.
Key Concepts & Core Principles
- Person-Centred Care: Understanding and applying approaches that prioritise the individual's unique preferences, history, personality, and abilities, rather than focusing solely on their diagnosis. This includes approaches like Tom Kitwood's 'Dementia Care Mapping' and the VIPS framework (Valuing Individuals, Individualised care, Perspective of the person, Social environment).
- Types and Progression of Dementia: Differentiating between common types such as Alzheimer's disease, Vascular dementia, Lewy Body dementia, and Fronto-temporal dementia, understanding their distinct pathologies, symptoms, and typical progression patterns, and how these influence care needs.
- Effective Communication Strategies: Developing and utilising a range of verbal and non-verbal communication techniques tailored for individuals with dementia, including validation therapy, active listening, simplifying language, and recognising non-verbal cues to understand needs and emotions.
- Legal and Ethical Frameworks: Applying key legislation and guidelines such as the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), and Advance Care Planning, to ensure individuals' rights are upheld, decisions are made in their best interests, and their autonomy is respected.
- Understanding Behaviours that Challenge: Recognising that 'challenging behaviours' are often expressions of unmet needs, pain, confusion, or distress, and developing strategies to identify triggers, de-escalate situations, and provide supportive, non-pharmacological interventions.
Exam Tips & Revision Strategies
- When justifying a person-centred approach, explicitly link your arguments to the social model’s emphasis on removing barriers and upholding rights, using phrases like 'preserving identity' and 'enabling choice'.
- To achieve higher marks, compare and contrast the models within a single care scenario, evaluating the potential outcomes for the individual under each paradigm.
Common Misconceptions & Mistakes to Avoid
- Confusing impairment (physical/cognitive difference) with disability (the restrictive impact of societal barriers), especially when applying the social model to dementia.
- Overlooking the applicability of models to non-physical conditions; for example, assuming the social model only relates to physical access and ignoring its relevance to cognitive accessibility and inclusiveness.
Examiner Marking Points
- Award credit for accurately defining and distinguishing between at least two models of disability (e.g., medical vs social) with clear application to dementia.
- Award credit for providing specific, contextualised examples of how a model shapes identity, such as the medical model fostering a 'patient' identity while the social model promotes personhood and inclusion.
- Award credit for analysing service delivery differences, demonstrating how a social model approach leads to proactive environmental adaptations and enablement, contrasting with a deficit-focused medical approach.