The Effect of Social Work Education and Self-Esteem on Students' Social Discrimination of People with Disabilities

Social work education on disability content has become more important due to political changes in the last two decades. The United States protected people with disabilities from discrimination in community and employment settings with the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. These changes have empowered people with disabilities to become more independent; however, social workers primarily fulfill roles as case managers, and often make decisions for people with disabilities. This is not consistent with the empowerment perspective embedded in the disability movement. Most social work schools have minimal courses covering disability content. Previous research and the Self-Esteem Hypothesis indicate that social work education, social proximity to people with disabilities, self-esteem and other demographic characteristics are associated with social discrimination, or attitudes, toward people with disabilities. Social work students (n = 73) participated in a survey in the last semester of their program to assess how these characteristics were associated with their attitudes towards people with disabilities. A multiple linear regression revealed that social work education preparedness to work with people with disabilities, an MSW education, self-esteem, and having a friend with a disability were significantly associated with students' social discrimination towards people with disabilities.     

Teaching Note—Oppression of People With Mental Illnesses: Incorporating Content Into Multiple-Issue Diversity Courses

Many social workers practice in settings serving people with mental illnesses, but social work education in the United States has given minimal attention to helping students understand the systemic nature of prejudice and discrimination experienced by this population. Some courses address prejudice (stigma) toward people with mental illnesses, but a critical consideration of systemic oppression appears to be lacking. We explain how an oppression framework used to understand the systemic nature of racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression is useful in illuminating experiences related to (perceived) mental health status. We offer suggestions for incorporating content into courses that focus on diversity and oppression with the goal of preparing students to engage in antioppressive practice with people who have mental illnesses.     

Qualitative inquiry of sibling relationships: reinforcement of disability devaluation through the exclusion of voices

People with disabilities share a history and culture of marginalization and oppression. In disability studies, disability has been re-defined as an inability or limitation in performance of the roles and tasks expected of individuals within society which excludes people from becoming full participants in social, cultural, and political affairs. Disability research has traditionally been ‘on’ rather than ‘with’ people with disabilities. This article examines how qualitative sibling disability research has been conducted, with a particular focus on the exclusion of people with disabilities.     

An open letter to the powers that be

This paper examines a case of discrimination against a deaf person at senior management level in education to illuminate the mechanism of discrimination and how, even when challenged, it can become a full-blown and deliberate victimisation and oppression. It questions the status of non-disabled 'experts' who mislead disabled people by encouraging them to adhere to unrealistic role concepts and expectations in pursuit of the perfect role model of the skilled disabled professional who can function in the absence of appropriate support, by isolating them from their own context, self-image and sense of humanity as disabled people. It further attempts to show the nature and extent of language abuse, institutional cultural monopoly and double standards which relegate disabled people to third class citizenship within diseased institutional frameworks, and suppress the possibility of a diversity of knowledge, skills, understanding and learning which makes for a more healthy 'affective climate' in education and society at large.     

Disability, gender, and unemployment relationships in the United States from the behavioral risk factor surveillance system

Women with disabilities face simultaneous oppression in employment due to discrimination with regard to disability and gender. This article investigates the potential disparity in participation in employment for women, particularly women with disabilities. We analysed weighted data from disability surveillance programs and the Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) on over 47,000 respondents. The disability BRFSS was a telephone survey in 11 states and Washington DC. Logistic regression analyses produced adjusted models of the association between gender and employment. Compared with people without disabilities, there were disparities found for people with disabilities, and women with and without disabilities, with the larger discrepancy for women without disabilities. Additional detail about level of employment is needed to make conclusive statements; however, it is clear that disparities in employment continue to exist for women, regardless of their disability status.     

Mental health support needs of people with a learning difficulty: a medical or a social model?

People with learning difficulties, like all disabled people, face social oppression. Much recent policy and practice are underpinned by at least some understanding of this oppression, and the social model of disability has been influential in discussions of services and supports for people with learning difficulties. However, in the area of mental health, the picture is somewhat different. This paper argues that the medical model has predominated in discussions of mental health support for people with learning difficulties, and that a social model approach could have much to offer. The paper draws on an ongoing action research study in which service providers, families and young people with learning difficulties are working together to articulate what is needed, in order to find routes to improve the support offered to young people with learning difficulties and mental health support needs.     

Issues Impacting on the Governance of Deafened Adults

Following the onset of profound deafness, the newly-deafened person is confronted with the various social meanings attributed to disability, particularly by the medical model. These values focus moral pressure on the individual to conform themselves with reified notions of so-called able-bodied, economically self-sufficient, hearing citizens. This moral arena privileges interventions such as cochlear implants over identifications with the Deaf Community, sign language and alternative communication technologies. The purpose of this paper is document and situate the moral milieu in which deafened people have to act, within its broader historical context. It then documents linkages between broadly-based social movements that commenced centuries ago, with specific attempts to govern aspects of the lives of deaf and deafened people. The analysis shows that as deaf and deafened people today struggle for social equality, they have much more in common, than has perhaps been recognised in the past.     

Caring for people with intellectual disabilities in poor rural communities in Cambodia: experience from ADD International

The burden of care for a disabled relative traditionally falls on women: mothers, wives, sisters. In Cambodia, Khmer culture is strongly structured around the family unit within which both the role of women and discrimination towards people with disabilities are sanctioned by social hierarchy, perceptions of weakness, and the concept of karmic merit. This article explores the impact of ADD International's project in Cambodia to support people with ‘intellectual disabilities’ – that is, learning disabilities – and aims to assess how this work affected carers, the majority of whom were women.     

The Americans with Disabilities Act: A Tool to Combat Poverty

Abstract

Statistics consistently demonstrate that people with disabilities are the poorest, least educated, and largest minority population in America. This article examines the employment provisions of Title I of the recently enacted Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and its use in combating poverty for individuals with disabilities. The ADA in its entirety, and Title I in particular, is useful both as an advocacy and pedagogical tool to understand and alleviate poverty, oppression, and discrimination. Suggestions for infusing this content into the professional foundation curriculum are included.     

Social enterprises as enabling workplaces for people with psychiatric disabilities

In recent years, western governments influenced by neoliberalism have emphasized paid work as a key route to social inclusion and community participation for people with psychiatric disabilities. Although paid work can offer many rewards, access to mainstream employment for people with psychiatric disabilities is difficult as they continue to encounter discrimination and a lack of workplace accommodation. One response to these challenges has been the creation of social enterprises as ‘alternative spaces’ of employment for people with psychiatric disabilities. On the basis of interviews with key informants from 21 different social enterprises across Ontario, Canada, this paper critically analyzes the strategies used by organizations to create jobs that are both accommodating for people, but also conducive to the ongoing success of the business.     

Differences in Experiences of Discrimination in Accessing Social Services Among Transgender/Gender Nonconforming Individuals by (Dis)Ability

Transgender and gender nonconforming (GNC) individuals frequently experience discrimination and potentially a lack of respect from service providers, suggesting they have decreased access to professionals with cultural competency. Similarly, people with disabilities experience higher levels of discrimination in social services than their nondisabled counterparts. From an intersectional perspective, this study examines rates of discrimination in accessing social services faced by transgender and GNC people, comparing across ability. Data indicate that although transgender and GNC individuals of all abilities experience gender-based discrimination when accessing social services, those with disabilities experience higher levels of antitransgender discrimination in mental health centers, rape crisis centers, and domestic violence shelters.     

Medicine and the Aesthetic Invalidation of Disabled People

Contemporary disability discourse is marked by a struggle between medical and social meanings and models. The latter reflects the aspirations and youthful radicalism of the disability movement, while the former regards itself as the legitimate voice of truth in all matters associated with bodily function and process. This paper argues that the battle lines between these two camps need not be redrawn. Despite hints to the contrary, the proposed extension of the social model to accommodate a sociology of impairment does not involve a rapprochement with the medical model. On the contrary, a sociological account of impairment seeks to augment the armoury of the social model by developing one of its weaknesses, namely the cultural critique of medicine. This paper examines some of the ways in which medicine has been involved in the 'aesthetic invalidation' of disabled people and proposes that 'geneticization' is an important current contributor to this form of disability discrimination.     

Exclusion of HIV-positive people with disabilities in the media

This current issue piece aims to address the harmful exclusion of people with disabilities in the Iranian media. In a case study, this author collected news related to statistics of HIV-positive people covered by popular news websites written in the Persian language between June 2011 and June 2012. Within the analysed electronic texts, no reference was made to the number of HIV-positive people with disabilities. Under the rubric of critical discourse analysis, one can argue that this lack of representation may also be linked to a more general level of discourse that constitutes the marginalization of people with disabilities. This damaging exclusion both legitimizes and reproduces the ideology that people with disabilities are social minorities who can be excluded to the benefit of powerful people. This current issue piece also discusses the potential negative consequences of excluding HIV-positive people with disabilities from the discourse of HIV/AIDS in the media. Ultimately, the conceivable reasons for the Iranian government failure or refusal to publish the statistics of HIV-positive people with disabilities will be provided. Studies from various countries could shed more light on the exclusion of HIV-positive people with disabilities in the media and the interplay between HIV/AIDS and disability issues.     

Toward a Holistic View of Health and Health Promotion in Social Work with People with Disabilities

Abstract

The individual medically oriented model of disability suggests that people with disabilities seldom achieve health and wellness because of their impairments and disabilities. This paper provides an alternative to the tendency in social work to focus on the medicalization of disability without a due consideration of the social context. It draws insights from the social model that asserts disability is a form of social restriction encountered by people with disabilities and that social barriers of disability must be removed through collective action. Also, this model posits that people with disabilities can be healthy if the barriers preventing good health are removed. However, medical aspects of a person with a disability should not be forsaken entirely. Therefore, this article proposes a holistic view that converges insights of the individual and social models toward a better understanding of health issues for people with disabilities. It shows the implications for social work that follow from the convergence.     

Involving People with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities in Social Work Education: Building Inclusive Practice

Abstract

Service user and carer engagement is a foundational requirement of social work education. Despite this, questions remain about how diverse experiences are represented and who might be excluded from involvement. This paper focusses on one group of people who it is suggested are excluded from involvement, people with profound and multiple learning disabilities. Evidence is presented which demonstrates the extent to which this group have been marginalised and excluded from processes of involvement. The paper then provides a case study of one universities’ experience of developing work in this area, when a man with profound and multiple learning disabilities was commissioned to design and deliver specialist teaching for a group of qualifying social work students. We argue that the main barrier to inclusive involvement for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities is the attitudes and assumption of others about what they are capable of. We demonstrate how involvement in social work education helps to address these barriers by challenging the assumptions of students, the academy and society more broadly.     

The obscuring of class in memoirs of parents of children with disabilities

Many memoirs written by the parents of children with disabilities have been published in America, especially in recent years. Although they often tell tales of struggle and heartache, they are also often tales of parents and children who manage to overcome adversity. While these stories no doubt often give many new parents of children with disabilities hope, they also obscure the fact that members of different classes have different access to various coping strategies for the extra challenges of raising a child with a disability. This paper examines nine memoirs and how the authors were able to use resources available to members of the middle and upper class (finances, time, and social connections) to more easily accomplish modern ideals of disability in America: de‐institutionalization and inclusion. The coping strategies of the lower class are absent from the discussion. Finally, the paper argues that it is ill‐advised to place such a heavy burden on families in accommodating persons with disabilities.     

Employment after spinal cord injury: the impact of government policies in Canada

The British Columbia Paraplegic Association (BCPA) sought a research partnership to evaluate where its activities should be focused. A survey of members with disabilities of the BCPA included questions on employment and identified three priorities related to employment. These were the need for assistance in finding appropriate work, the impact of policies of government and insurance agencies, and attitudes of employers. This paper examines the social and political environment related to employment following spinal cord injury in British Columbia, Canada. There is no coherent set of goals underlying government employment and income programs in Canada. Incremental development of particular employment and income programs during the 20th century led to a patchwork of policies and programs, which deal with people differently according to the cause of their disability. Federal and provincial governments have attempted to educate employers and reduce barriers to employment of those with disabilities by focusing on anti-discrimination legislation and individual rights (e.g. the Employment Equity Act and the Canadian Human Rights Act). However, people with disabilities face non-accommodating environments, inadequate income support, lack of opportunities and little political influence which stem from an unfair distribution of societal resources, not from discrimination. Joint efforts of the BCPA and other disability organizations are likely to have the most impact on legislative changes.     

‘Can anything good come out of this mouth?’ Female experiences of disability in Malawi

The aim of this article is to give an overview of the daily life stories of 23 women with disabilities in Malawi. The stories were gained through qualitative interviews that covered aspects of being a woman and living with a disability in Malawi. Recent studies from countries in southern Africa have documented how people with disabilities experience poorer living conditions than people without disabilities. It is generally assumed that the living conditions of women are worse than those of men. There is, however, a large gap in the literature concerning women with disabilities in Africa. The results present a mixed picture. While several of the informants had experienced discrimination and exclusion because of their impairments, most of the women had been well taken care of and were treated equally by their closest family and friends. They had a strong wish to be empowered through education and employment.     

Discursive discrimination against the 'deaf-mute'/'deaf ' and the importance of categorization in 20th century Sweden

This article sheds light on issues concerning discrimination in the history of deaf people in Sweden in the 20th century. With the help of a specific typology of concepts for analysing discrimination exercised through the use of language, it is shown how the categorization of the hearing impaired has changed over time and how, in this process of change, official discourses on 'deaf-muteness' or deafness has shifted from more to less discriminatory in certain respects and from making deaf people out as very different from the majority population to de-emphasizing differences. The overall social practice is described as moving from assimilation towards inclusion.     

An Analysis of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

In this paper, the author overviews the key components of the ADA. A discussion is offered on why and how persons with disabilities are discriminated against. The standard stereotypes often heard about persons with disabilities are offered. Critical United States Supreme Court decisions are presented; these decisions have greatly limited the power of the ADA in protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. Even though the United States Supreme Court has narrowed the impact of the ADA in American life, a number of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) cases are presented, suggesting this federal agency is attempting to protect persons with disabilities against discrimination. The final part of the paper deals with the topic of advocacy; advocacy may well be one of the most effective tools to help insure that the rights of people with disabilities are protected in the 21st century.