This sounds like a good way to think about some disabilities (specific recognised ways of "not being normal") and very misleading and unproductive for other disabilities.
A blind person can't participate in society to the same degree that a sighted person could, but the same is true of the entire world. We can (and arguably should) make their life easier by changing society, but unless you fix the root problem, they'll forever lack visual experiences.
From another angle, life without a human society still has its challenges. Adding a society removes some and adds new ones. Some people only have problems with these new challenges, some struggle with the old as well. These two scenarios should be distinguished, perhaps by applying the "social" and "medical" models appropriately.
> We can (and arguably should) make their life easier by changing society, but unless you fix the root problem, they'll forever lack visual experiences.
But not everybody wants to gain the experiences that would come from not having their condition. (This is especially true in the Deaf community[0], but can be seen in other communities as well.) And honestly? I feel that's a very valid viewpoint to have. The reason they "can't participate in society" to the same extent is because society doesn't let them!
I know about these tendencies, but I can't be sympathetic to them. (Re)gaining hearing is a physiological improvement; those with implants can even "turn off" noise. What these deaf people may lose is a specific deaf culture, held together by current necessity. But then the sides are flipped, and they are the ones perpetuating a non-inclusive (sub-)society.
A wider society that supports Deaf culture (or even just deaf ppl) would do things like provide email or SMS support for access to essential services instead of only providing telephone support and expecting the d/Deaf ppl to bring their own translators .
A blind person can't participate in society to the same degree that a sighted person could, but the same is true of the entire world. We can (and arguably should) make their life easier by changing society, but unless you fix the root problem, they'll forever lack visual experiences.
From another angle, life without a human society still has its challenges. Adding a society removes some and adds new ones. Some people only have problems with these new challenges, some struggle with the old as well. These two scenarios should be distinguished, perhaps by applying the "social" and "medical" models appropriately.