DISABILITY AND INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT

This book approaches disability as a matter of global concern, while recognizing its locally specific manifestations. Disability studies are presented as a normative and scholarly commitment toward building a more inclusive and equitable society. The inclusion of persons with disabilities entails the systematic removal of diverse barriers—physical, communicational, psychological, and attitudinal—that restrict their full and equal participation in social life under the principle of non-discrimination. The central objective of the book is to advance disability studies beyond data-rich empirical generalizations toward the development of integrated explanatory frameworks. To this end, the work synthesizes major models and theories of disability, critically examining each approach, fostering dialogue among them, and identifying their potential contributions to mainstream disability research. The broader implications of the study are explored across nine analytically structured chapters and are graphically modelled to facilitate a holistic understanding of the challenges faced by persons with disabilities, while offering actionable policy and practice-oriented recommendations. The proposed model conceptualizes disability across three interrelated layers—input framework, diagnosis, and prognosis—representing a linear, outcome-oriented process in which the input framework informs diagnosis, diagnosis enables prognosis, and prognosis ultimately aims at achieving inclusive development. By situating local contexts within a global discourse, the book articulates the macro-level implications of a micro-level study, thereby contributing to both theoretical advancement and practical intervention in disability studies