Disability and Social Work Reflective Journal 2pages
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_Chapter2.pptx
Theories & Models of Disability
Chapter 2
Case Profile: Marion
What would you identify as the main problems in Marion situation?
What caused them?
What do you think would be helpful in improving her situation?
Are these issues due to her disability?
Case profile: Marion
Could the employer have made adjustments to her role and provided equipment?
If she has been the victim of domestic violence, how has this affected her sense of self-worth?
Has this, along with her current difficulties in seeing her friends and colleagues, played a role in her depression?
How accessible is her home and is there any specialist equipment that would have make it easier for her to carry out domestic tasks?
Does she have access to suitable transport to enable her to travel into town and participate more in community life?
What lens do we look at individuals with disabilities?
What assumptions do we make about individuals with disabilities?
How does this impact their day-to-day living?
How are individuals with disabilities represented in newspapers, literature, films and television programs?
Disney characters
Captain Hook (missing hand)
Scary, bad guy
Hunchback of Notre Dame
Seven Dwarfs
Dopey (Not the smartest; Mute)
Sleepy (Narcolepsy)
Sneezy (Allergies)
Doc (Glasses)
Grumpy (ODD)
Bashful (social anxiety disorder)
Think of examples of individuals with disabilities? Are they portrayed as mean, ugly, villains? What are our children and youth seeing from this representation? In other cases, Superhumans?
Individuals with disabilities tends not to be portrayed as “ordinary people of society” but something to be heroically overcome
OR
avoided at all costs
History of the Disabled Rights movement in the United States
Review the historical timeline for the disability movement:
http://www.ncld-youth.info/index.php?id=61#
Notice how long it takes for individuals with disabilities to have “equal rights” in the United States (Americans with Disabilities Act).
History
Middle Ages
Atypical bodies were often associated with the supernatural
People were put to death for witchcraft
Neurological or emotional disorders
God to demonstrate charity
Faith-based care became an avenue for help
17th century
Institutionalization to protect non-disabled population from disabled population
19th century
‘Freakshows’ – allowed people to view people with atypical bodies
Segregation
Rise in status of the medical profession to classify ‘deviant groups’
The History of Education for individuals with disabilities
Review the interactive timeline for the history of education for individuals with disabilities
https://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/46133/The-History-of-Special-Education/#vars!date=1945-10-04_01:06:23!
Make a note of when Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) occurred
Medical approach
Interpreted diversity in terms of pathology
“Able-bodiedness” and “able-mindedness”
“Normalcy”
Galton, the leading eugenicist, identified “normal distribution”
Fell outside of the curve were “defectives”
Social theory and disability
Social Model
“Disability is something imposed on top of our impairments, by the way we are unnecessarily isolated and excluded from full participation in society. Disabled people are therefore an oppressed group in society (UPIAS 1976:14).” pg. 18
Premise of social model:
The restrictions experienced by people with impairments result from physical and social environments which takes account only of the requirements of non-disabled people (Barnes 1991; Oliver 1996b). Pg.18
Rehabilitation Role
Set out the social expectations of those undergoing rehabilitation.
Must maximize their remaining abilities
Assume as “normal” a function as possible
Cooperate with professionals
Adapt to their new identity
This approach influences policy and practice
Symbolic Interactionalist Approach
The “sick role” was “deviant” in society grounded in individual responsibility.
Disability is regarded as social deviance
Goffman (1964) identification of “stigma” had particular relevance for disability.
Try to conceal the impairment
Social Role Valorization
“abnormality” is located in the disabled individual, whereas disabled people are oppressed through society’s failure to meet their human needs, particularly that for inclusion in social relations
“Classic” Social Model
Oliver (1990)
Materialist
“all social relations are products of the practices which humans pursue in meeting their basic needs for food, shelter, affective ties, movement and the like.”
The transformed into “disability” is how society defines basic material activities
Work
Transportation
Leisure
Reproduction
Social model lead to independent living
Individuals with disabilities should have the same right to choice & control over their own lives as non-disabled people
Independence does not mean being able to do everything for oneself
Individuals with disabilities should ein control of any assistance they require
Affirmative Model of Disability
Challenges the tragedy approach to disability by asserting that, for many individuals with disabilities, disability is viewed in positive terms.
The idea that many individuals with disabilities do not aspire to be non-disabled norms is a challenge in itself.
Critiques of Social Model
The claim that impairments are themselves socially constructed and therefore cannot be dismissed as irrelevant to any social or political approach
The removal of environmental barriers may not be sufficient to ensure the full participation of all disabled people
Example: Deaf Community
Case Profile: Eileen What factors are restricting her life?
Which of these arise from impairment?
Is disability also restricting her?
How would you respond to this situation as a social worker?
Is it apparent that Eileen’s impairments have an impact on her ability participate in the activities she use to enjoy?
Explanatory Frameworks
Explanatory legitimacy theory
Assignment of individuals to particular disability categories is argued to be dependent on the explanation for their atypical behaviors or appearance
Disjuncture theory
Involves the ill fit of the body with the environment
The experience of the individual with a disability results from the relationship between factors intrinsic to the individual, and extrinsic factors arising from the wider context in which she finds herself.
Medical judgements or judgements based on “disability as a construction” including social and political models of disability
Example: Asperger’s syndrome
Looking past the impairment
Social
Emotional
Physical
Pain
Implications for social work
Intervention should be at the intersection of the body and the physical, social and political environment
Be prepared to be engaged in challenging oppression
Advocacy
Assessment and support planning skills
Promotion of self-advocacy and independent living
Equality
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