1.
SOCIALWORK AND
PEOPLE WITH
DISABILITIES
Acknowledgment: Some slides from Karen Bell

2.
Ramp up
Go to the Ramp up – disability advocacy site
What are the 17 things the (late) StellaYoung wanted
everyone to know?
http://www.abc.net.au/rampup/
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3.
Defining ‘disability’
2001World Health Organisation;
Dynamic interaction between
health conditions, environmental
& personal factors, including
body structures & functions,
activities and experiences
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4.
Defining ‘disability’
Australian Institute of Health & Welfare;
‘Environmental factors make up the physical,
social and attitudinal environment in which
people live and conduct their lives’
4 main groupings of disability:
■ Physical
■ Speech / sensory
■ Psychiatric
■ Intellectual / learning
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5.
2015 Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC)
In 2015:
■ Almost one in five Australians reported living with disability (18.3% or 4.3 million
people).
■ The majority (78.5%) of people with disability reported a physical condition, such as
back problems, as their main long–term health condition.The other 21.5% reported
mental and behavioural disorders.
■ More than half of those with disability aged 15 to 64 years participated in the labour
force (53.4%), which is considerably fewer than those without disability (83.2%).
These results are consistent with those in the 2012 SDAC.
http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/C258C88A7AA5A87ECA2568A9001393E8?Opendocument
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6.
Models of disability
■ The moral approach
■ The individual/medical model
■ The economic/policy model
■ The social political model.
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7.
The moral approach
■ Individuals held responsible for their condition
■ Do you think examples of this approach exist today?
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8.
The individual / medical model
■ Individuals seen as victims in need of expert help.
– If temporary disability – an obedient patient is helped to recover
and return to ‘normal’ by expert, powerful doctors with cures
– If permanent, ‘impaired’ individuals exempted from normal social
roles (employment, partnerships, ordinary social expectations,
raising families, etc). A type of second class citizenship, often
segregated in large institutions
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9.
Social workers’ role in the medical model
■ Secondary to medical profession
■ People with disabilities ‘helpless’ so SW counsel people & families to
‘accept’ conditions, place people in institutional care
■ Charity approach – deserving, passive recipients of services
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10.
The welfare / policy model
■ Developed out of a need to rehabilitate victims ofWorldWars
■ Disability as a social issue that required social solutions
■ Focus on goals of independence and maximising function
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11.
Social Work in welfare / policy model
■ SW more of a primary role
■ ‘patients’ become ‘clients’
■ More holistic practice – looking at the person in their environment
■ Multidisciplinary teams
■ Emphasis on independence, advocacy
■ What are some of the criticisms of this model outlined by Bowles
(2005)?
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12.
Social / political model
■ A human rights approach
■ Emphasis on how socio-economic
environment creates ‘disability’, how
attitudes and unequal access reinforce
‘disability’
■ Rights of people with disabilities to
take charge of lives as active citizens,
not recipients of services dominated by
able-bodied perceptions and interests
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13.
Social work in social /
political model
■ Challenge to focus on changes to the social /
economic environment rather than
individuals’ fitting in to existing environment
■ Power relations between predominantly
‘able’ workers and clients – clients’
perceptions as central
■ What are some of the criticisms of this model?
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14.
Online resources
■ StellaYoung –TED talk
http://www.ted.com/talks/stella_young_i_m_not_your_i
nspiration_thank_you_very_much?language=en
■ Ramp up –
http://www.abc.net.au/rampup/
■ BBC OUCH
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs/ouch
■ http://www.friendshipcircle.org/blog/2013/03/08/5-
amazing-bands-who-look-beyond-their-disabilities/
■ http://www.laserbeakman.com/
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15.
Practice issues for social workers
‘Social workers must be able to
recognise the influence of different
models in various layers of policy and
practice, and in their own attitudes, as
well as recognising the strengths and
dangers in each, if they are to be
effective allies in furthering the
interests of people with disabilities’
(Bowles 2005, p.58).
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16.
Key Practice issues for SocialWork
■ Need to critique on our own assumptions and beliefs about ‘disability’. Why is this
necessary?
■ Is SW functioning as a gatekeeper of resources or partner in social change process?
What is the basis for the SW profession’s concern about this issue?
■ SW needs to operate within multidisciplinary teams in community settings.What are
some of the keys to successful practice in a multidisciplinary team?
■ Need to know about policy context and service delivery models so that clients can
access all entitlements. Why is this necessary?
■ Multilevel action needed to work for social justice and social change in context of
disability. Why is this so?
■ Focus on maximising self-determination for people with a disability. How might this be
achieved?
(Munford & Bennie 2013, pp. 203 & 205) 16

17.
The National disability
Insurance Scheme

18.
References
■ ABS – www.abs.gov.au
■ Bowles,W. 2005. ‘Social work with people with disabilities’. In Alston,
M. & McKinnon, J. (eds). 2005. Social work fields of practice.
Melbourne, OUP, chapter 4.
■ Munford, R. & Bennie, G. 2013. ‘Social work and disability’. In
Connolly, M. & Harms, L. (Eds.) Social work contexts and practice.
Melbourne, OUP, chapter 15.
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