People with disabilities have been portrayed as abnormal, deserving of pity and not as individuals who are entitled to enjoy the same opportunities to live a full and satisfying life as other members of society. This approach has also been accompanied by a way of thinking about disability (known as the 'medical model' of disability, among other names) which has been described in the following terms: "Disability tends to be couched within a medical and …showed first 75 words of 1414 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1414 total…Policy and Practice. Basingstoke: Macmillan Mitchell, P. (1997) The Impact of Self-advocacy on Families,Disability & Society, 12(1), 43-56. Oliver, M. (1991) 'Disability and participation in the labour market', in Brown, R. and Scase, R. (eds) Poor Work: Disadvantage and the Division of Labour, Buckingham; Open University Press Oliver, M. (1996) Understanding Disability: From Theory to Practice. London: Macmillan Ryan, W. (1971) Blaming the Victim: Ideology serves the Establishment, London; Pantheon Thompson, N. (1997) Anti-Discriminatory Practice, 2nd edn, London; Macmillan