Office of Disability and Access empowers students by enhancing equity, and providing a platform for innovation and inclusion.
ODA embraces the concept of disability as diversity and is committed to creating a new context and culture for disability.
To achieve this, we mitigate competitive disadvantages and environmental barriers that impact learning by striving for equitable practices through Universal Design. We provide individualized accommodations when environmental barriers cannot be eliminated and provide a holistic approach of support, one in which we collaborate with partners across campus foster independent, self-determined, and engaged students.
Social Model of Disability
At Ursinus, we utilize the Social Model of Disability. The social model is a way of viewing the world, developed by disabled people. Scope’s Everyday Equality strategy is based on this model of disability. The model says that people are disabled by barriers in society, not by their impairment or difference.
“The Social Model frames disability as something that is socially constructed. Disability is created by physical, organisational and attitudinal barriers and these can be changed and eliminated. This gives us a dynamic and positive model that tells us what the problem is and how to fix it. It takes us away from the position of “blaming” the individual for their shortcoming. It states that impairment is, and always will be, present in every known society, and therefore the only logical position to take, is to plan and organise society in a way that includes, rather than excludes, Disabled people.” ───Barbara Lisicki, 2013
Want to read more?
The Social Model of Disability Explained
The Social Model of Disability Fact Sheet
