Turning experience into theory: The affirmation model as a tool for critical Praxis

In this article I discuss the affirmation model, initially proposed by Swain and French (2000), as an intervention in an ongoing debate within disability studies around the usefulness of the social model. I consider the purpose of developing models, such as the social and affirmation models, and identify the lack of definitions in Swain and French’s original suggestion as an inherent weakness. I then outline my own research, undertaken with the aim of identifying whether useful affirmation model definitions might be fashioned, and relate my conclusions to Freire’s idea of critical Praxis. I conclude by proposing the affirmation model as a practical tool for use by social workers to identify the ways in which disabling social relations are reproduced in everyday encounters.