Dr. Joanne Banks:

As long as we are focusing on the otherness of the characteristic of the person the Senator described as "different", whether it is disability or some other characteristic, it is in line with the medical model. It is in line with that unsustainable funding model where we allocate resources often based on arbitrary criteria. If we shift the emphasis to what is called the social model, we basically invest in the environment. The special educational need is with the system and not the child, and the deficit is not within them.