In 1983 the disabled academic Mike Oliver coined the phrase social model of disability.
The Social Model of Disability – National Disability Arts Collection and Archive
This term was the result of the work of multiple disability advocates and allies. The idea of the social model of disability had begun to be developed as early as the 1960s alongside the disability rights movement.
In 1975 The Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation said:
In our view it is society which disables physically impaired people. Disability is something imposed on top of our impairments by the way we are unnecessarily isolated and excluded from full participation in society.”
In the social model of disability, disability exists in the interaction between the individual and society – it is attitudes, physical barriers, restricted access, and systemic exclusion that disable individuals. In the medical model of disability, disability is a personal issue, and the barriers are within the person.
The social model of disability is a move towards creating a more equitable and inclusive world.