This model rejects the long-established idea that obstacles to the participation of disabled people arise primarily from their impairment and focuses instead on environmental barriers. These include:

Prevailing attitudes and preconceptions, leading to underestimation;

The policies, practices, and procedures of a local and national government;

The structure of health, welfare and education systems;

Lack of access to buildings, transport and to the whole range of community resources available to the rest of the population;

The impact of poverty and deprivation on the community as a whole and more specifically on persons with disabilities and their families.

**The picture below captures the cardinal point of the Social Construction Model of Disability**