Universally design social policy: when disability disappears?

Area of Science:

• Social Policy
• Disability Studies
• Human Rights Law

Background:

• Existing disability policies often struggle to balance equality with individual differences.
• Universal Design (UD) principles, successful in architecture, offer a potential framework for social policy.
• The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities emphasizes both equality and individual circumstances.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the legal and policy feasibility of applying Universal Design (UD) principles to disability policy.
• To explore the creation of a "universalised disability policy" aligned with human rights.
• To address the tension between achieving equality and respecting individual differences for persons with disabilities.

Main Methods:

• Modified Universal Design (UD) principles were applied to social policy concerning disability.
• Core interpretative strategies for human rights implementation, as used in the UN CRPD, were employed.
• Analogical reasoning was used to resolve the equality versus difference dilemma in policy.

Main Results:

• The principles of Universal Design (UD) are applicable to social policy for persons with disabilities.
• This application provides a blueprint for reforming social service delivery.
• A universalised social policy can accommodate a wide spectrum of abilities and needs.

Conclusions:

• Universal social policy, guided by UD principles and human rights interpretation, is feasible and desirable.
• This approach aligns with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
• Universalising social policy may lead to the eventual dissolution of 'disability' as a distinct policy category.