by Fabrizio Acanfora
For a long time, disability was viewed as a personal deficit, a label that defined what a person could or could not do. But during the years of major civil-rights mobilizations – when power structures were being questioned, and people were demanding full participation in social life – the way we think about disability also began to shift. Disabled people started organizing, protesting, demanding recognition, access, and the possibility of living like anyone else.
In this context, a new perspective took shape, later fully articulated by Michael Oliver in the UK: the Social Model of disability.
It represented a profound shift because it moved the focus of the conversation. Disability is not limiting because of the person, but the conditions they encounter. It is not an individual defect to be corrected. What needs correcting are the cultural, physical, sensory, organizational, and relational barriers that limit those who experience the world differently. This interaction-based perspective is now also recognized by the World Health Organization, which defines disability as the outcome of the encounter between personal characteristics and the barriers present in society.
Oliver also introduced a key distinction: he used the term impairment to refer to individual characteristics that may be challenging for the person but are not disabling on their own. What actually “disables” someone with an impairment is the barriers produced by a society built around an idea of the “normal” person – meaning someone who fits expected standards.
These barriers are what create disability. Not the impairment itself.
And this is where everything changes. If disability is not an individual problem, then we can work on the barriers to reduce the disabling effects a person experiences. It’s not about “fixing” anyone, but about adjusting society so all people can reasonably navigate everyday life.
Another important point, in light of this interpretation, is that no one is truly autonomous. Complex societies exist because we are interdependent, because we live in relation to one another. This applies to everyone, including people who are not considered disabled. Yet when interdependence involves a disabled person, we often treat it as a limitation or a problem. In reality, it is simply a cultural lens we can learn to question.
What about the workplace?
This means we all have a role in reducing disability. We can address barriers – even the ones we barely notice: processes designed for a “typical worker” who doesn’t exist, physical or sensory environments that are not accessible, and implicit expectations, communication styles that exclude instead of welcome.
Ahead of December 3rd, I’ve often heard people say: “I prefer not to talk about disability because it’s a negative word.” Today, we can try to shift that interpretation. The word “disability” does not indicate something negative in the person; it is a reflection of societal barriers, failures to guarantee access, participation, and self-determination.
This concerns all of us. We share a responsibility: creating environments where each person can grow professionally, develop skills, become economically independent, and contribute to the development of both organizations and society as a whole.
Today, we celebrate a power we often forget:
The power to help shape a workplace that recognizes and values every talent. A workplace capable of questioning its habits and growing in the complexity and variety of human characteristics.
All of this is possible only when the right to self-determination and self-representation is guaranteed for everyone, by removing barriers together with the people who face them every day.
Not for them, but with them.
From this approach emerges a form of inclusion that goes beyond corporate practice. It becomes a form of conscious coexistence, showing how barriers not only hinder access to work but also prevent managers, colleagues, and clients from discovering how transformative collaboration in diversity can be.
Working toward accessibility is not abstract idealism. It is what enables organizations to innovate, to listen to people’s real needs, and to respond more effectively to the aspirations of all stakeholders.
On a day like this, we can remind ourselves that every barrier removed creates space for someone else – including us.
At Specialisterne, we work every day to remove barriers and to create conditions that allow autistic people to contribute, grow professionally, and find in work a genuine space of self-determination.
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