Disability refers to the social effects of physical or mental impairment. This definition, known as the 'social model' of disability, makes a clear distinction between the impairment itself (such as a medical condition that makes a person unable to walk or unable to sit) and the disabling effects of society in relation to that impairment. As Frank Bowe put it in Handicapping America (1978), the real issue is the societal response to disability: if a community allows physical, architectural, transportation, and other barriers to remain in place, society is creating handicaps that oppress individuals with disabilities. If, on the other hand, a community removes those barriers, persons with disabilities can function at much higher levels. In simple terms, it is not the inability to walk or inability to sit that prevents a person entering a building unaided but the existence of stairs or the lack of benches to lie down, that are inaccessible to a wheelchair-user or a person with sitting disability. In other words, 'disability' is socially constructed. The 'social model' is often contrasted with the 'medical model' which sees 'disability' as synonymous with 'impairment.'

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Vision Impairments - Twitter Search

RT @mrlerner: [WalkScore] We've gotten awesome emails from ppl w/ vision/mobility impairments. Walkable neighborhoods = much easier for them
30lines (Mike Whaling) Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:00:07 -0000
RT @mrlerner: [WalkScore] We've gotten awesome emails from ppl w/ vision/mobility impairments. Walkable neighborhoods = much easier for them
@30lines we've gotten some awesome emails from people with vision & mobility impairments b/c walkable neighborhoods are much easier for them
mrlerner (Matt Lerner) Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:53:43 -0000
@30lines we've gotten some awesome emails from people with vision & mobility impairments b/c walkable neighborhoods are much easier for them
Vision Expo fyi... Only 22% of ppl w/ visual impairments use visual & adaptive devices according to Nation Center for Health Sciences
VisionExpo (Vision Expo) Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:18:55 -0000
Vision Expo fyi... Only 22% of ppl w/ visual impairments use visual & adaptive devices according to Nation Center for Health Sciences

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