Consumer Perspective on the Preparation of Rehabilitation Professionals

Abstract

Social, political, and economic trends have reinforced the demand for self-determination by Americans with disabilities. Demographic factors and guarantees of civil rights have redefined what disabilities are perceived to be. This reorientation became possible as a result of advances in medical science and rehabilitation techniques and technology. No longer merely individual tragedies, disabilities have become common experiences and must be anticipated within all aspects of social planning. The medical model, with its patient role for those with disabilities, is no longer deemed appropriate to a population that has moved toward status as the newest minority with federal guarantees of its civil rights. This view requires new orientation in rehabilitation policy, priorities, and practice. To remain relevant, the rehabilitation field must prepare practitioners to move into mainstream community-based planning and service delivery. Additions to graduate curricula are essential. In the age following the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as disability becomes everybody's business, consumers and customers of the knowledge and expertise of the rehabilitation field will make new demands on the profession.