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The philosophy that stands behind a significant number of the regulatory changes underwent by disabilities in the last years is the one duly depicted by the social model of disability. Despite the relevance and appropriateness of the social model approach, when it comes to dealing with disabilities it is not a widely accepted model and it is not without its criticism. The criticism can be divided into two large groups. The first group unfolds from an approach foreign to rights; the second group comes from the inside of the rights discourse. On the other hand, the referents of the social, diversity and identity models, thoroughly discussed in specialized forums and duly embedded in different rules and regulations, have not found yet their application to society. The medical-care approach is mainstream in society. In this paper expose some of the criticisms of the social model and some of the reasons for this limited success