Exploring how the social model of disability can be re-invigorated: in response to Mike Oliver

In his 2013 article in Disability & Society, Oliver recommended that the social model should either be replaced or re-invigorated. I argue here that the social model’s current emphasis reflects the social conditions in which it was introduced, and that the model’s impact on disabled people’s lives would increase if its emphasis was to more accurately reflect the current social conditions in the geographical regions in which it is applied. In order to help foster its re-invigoration, I ask five questions for discussion on the way forward for the social model. I identified my questions through examining published writing on the scope of the social model and on the model’s relationship with other models of disability.     

On the ontological status of autism: the ‘double empathy problem’

In recent decades there has been much debate over the ontological status of autism and other neurological ‘disorders’, diagnosed by behavioural indicators, and theorised primarily within the field of cognitive neuroscience and psychological paradigms. Such cognitive-behavioural discourses abstain from acknowledging the universal issue of relationality and interaction in the formation of a contested and constantly reconstructed social reality, produced through the agency of its ‘actors’. The nature of these contested interactions will be explored in this current issues piece through the use of the term the ‘double empathy problem’, and how such a rendition produces a critique of autism being defined as a deficit in ‘theory of mind’, re-framing such issues as a question of reciprocity and mutuality. In keeping with other autistic self-advocates, this piece will refer to ‘autistic people’, and ‘those who identify as on the autism spectrum’, rather than ‘people with autism’.     

‘In Light of this Demonstration of Crisis in our Nation’: Paternity,Responsibility and Welfare

This article examines the elements of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 that provides the rationale and mandates for paternity testing as well as some of the government programmes developed as a result of that policy. What we will become clear in the course of my analysis is that the Act itself is situated in a larger socio-economic structure that frames single-parent families as a ‘crisis’, one that is remedied by the resurrection and reinsertion of the father into the family. In this article, I use both theories of governmentality and feminist social theory to examine how a neoliberal logic of paternity works to position mothers as fixed and fathers as flexible using a language of dependency. Using the paternity test as my entryway, I examine the opening language of the Act and all further references to paternity testing. Then, I explore and challenge the language of Child Support Enforcement Program. I conclude this chapter with an analysis of the role of paternity establishment programmes in suturing this ‘crisis’.     

Karl Polanyi as a spatial theorist

ABSTRACT

The ‘spatial’ turn in political economy has re-invigorated Marxian analysis, allowing for new research programmes into urbanization, geopolitics, and social movement activity amongst other topics. This tendency emerged through a critical re-reading of Marx and Gramsci, amongst others, uncovering spatial analyses embedded in the logic of their arguments. Conversely, Karl Polanyi’s interlocutors have tended to add geographical analysis as an additional layer of theory, reading space ‘in’ to the text. However, a close reading reveals that a concern with space permeates Polanyi’s analysis. As such, it is possible to read space ‘out’ of Polanyi, adding a level of theoretical rigour and logical consistency when applying his insights to geographic topics. This article carries out an exegesis of Karl Polanyi’s work, uncovering a theoretical framework that deals with space, place, scale, fixity, and motion. From this vantage point, the article considers the potential implications of this new geographical reading of Polanyi.     

Sensory language (SDM) to foster empathy in social work students

Assessment and management of emotional situations are generally discussed in academic studies in the field of social work through verbal interventions, while the art of developing awareness to nonverbal feelings has yet to see widespread use. Sensory experience based on nonverbal communication and body language can highlight complex feelings and problems that the social worker confronts. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of an intervention of sensory body language using a modified Sherborne Developmental Movement (SDM) model, in a course for social work students. The course’s multidimensional process involved cognitive and affective components of understanding and identifying thoughts, feelings, and emotional states of others. The intervention combined art activity and focusing to foster empathy among social work students in the group setting. Twenty social work students attending college in the north of Israel participated in the course, writing reflective diaries throughout the course, which were collected and analyzed. The findings suggest that sensory language and movement through the group experience enhanced social work students’ empathy and their awareness of its importance for practice. Learning to be empathic through nonverbal communication also challenged perceived barriers to empathy such as cultural and language differences.     

‘From Behind the Women's Petticoats’: The English Factory Act of 1874 as a Cultural Production1

Abstract In 1874 Parliament passed a law entitled ‘The Factories (Health of Women. etc) Act’ which limited the hours that women and children could work in textile factories to a 56 1/2 hour work week. In this paper I interpret the debates over hours legislation and the resulting Act as cultural productions. These cultural productions contributed to the formulation of a new social problem,‘the working mother’ promulgated an interpretation of who caused the problem, and reinforced a particular view of who was responsible for social reproduction. The rhetoric in the debates about the measure made crucial contributions to the future agenda for public policies concerning married women workers and working mothers, and reinforced a world view that state, economy and family are, and ought to remain, independent entities. My analysis draws from a range of theoretical traditions and works stressing the importance of language and other symbolic practices such as rituals in creating political subjects, problems and solutions. I examine the debates about state regulation in the 1870s to show how a symbolic or cultural analysis illuminates state-level politics and the formulation of public policy. It was through such laws and debates that the state contributed to the social construction of gender and a gendered economy.     

‘If I was a different ethnicity,would she treat me the same?’: Latino parents’ experiences obtaining autism services

This article reports on an ethnographic study with 12 Latino families of children on the autism spectrum related to obtaining autism services in Los Angeles County. Using critical discourse analysis of interviews, observations, and records, we consider the experiences of the Latino families in relation to: a discursively constructed ‘autism parent’ subject position that mandates ‘fighting’ service systems to ‘win’ autism services for children, originating from White middle-class parents’ socioeconomic resources and social capital; a neoliberal social services climate that assumes scarcity of available resources and prioritizes austerity in their authorization; and a media and institutional ‘cultural deficit’ discourse that attributes disparities in autism services for Latino children to their parents’ presumed culturally-based ‘passivity.’ We argue that parental discourse about fighting, or not fighting, for autism services is engendered by a tension between a parental logic of care, and the logic of competition of the economic market.     

An exploratory investigation of social workers’ knowledge and attitudes about autism

ABSTRACT

Although researchers continue to generate knowledge concerning autism, few have investigated social workers’ understanding about this condition. In this exploratory study, we surveyed licensed social workers (n = 793) to examine social workers’ understanding and attitudes about autism. Overall, we found social workers have accurate knowledge and hold strengths-based attitudes about autism and persons on the autism spectrum. Factors significantly associated with accurate autism knowledge were having special training in autism, having present clinical involvement with autism, and knowing someone on the autism spectrum. Implications for social work practice, education and training, and future research, are discussed.     

Appreciating the world of autism through the lens of video interaction guidance: an exploration of a parent’s perceptions,experiences and emerging narratives on autism

This study seeks to identify understandings and narratives around autism spectrum disorder (ASD) through the application of video interaction guidance (VIG). In adopting a social constructionist approach, the case study used a person-centred model to explore a parent’s experiences and emerging narratives of ASD through the lens of VIG. Findings of the current study suggest that VIG offers an effective tool for in-depth exploration of complex, multi-storied understandings of ASD and the perceived parental role. The intervention was perceived to promote greater awareness of the child’s communication skills, beyond the ‘common’ understandings of ASD, by providing a novel outsider perspective on interactions. The intervention also promoted parental efficacy through recognition of parenting skills in supporting the development of strength-based narratives. VIG was seen to provide a platform for an exploration of existing narratives and the construction of new, preferred realities.     

Deconstructing Disability and Neurodiversity: Controversial Issues for Autism and Implications for Social Work

Disability is a socially constructed concept that can be viewed from either a medical or a social perspective. Autism, a developmental disability, can be viewed from the medical model of disability or through a new perspective brought forth by the autistic community and aligning with the social model termed neurodiversity. Using the medical model and a lens of neurodiversity, we can deconstruct the controversial issues surrounding autism and provide insights for social workers and other professionals working with the community of the disabled.     

Particular polyglots: multilingual students with autism

Many American children with autism live in multilingual environments. Yet an almost diametric contrast exists between the advice of practitioners and the recommendations found in scholarly literature. Whereas practitioners almost unanimously counsel that children on the autism spectrum be exposed to English alone, an increasing number of scholars have argued the potential benefits for these children of learning their parents’ native language as well. This paper argues that, in fact, language recommendations for children on the spectrum should fall somewhere between these two poles and be tailored to individual children and their families.     

Validating difference and counting the cost of exclusion in the lives of people who identify as on the autistic spectrum

This current issues piece will explore how autobiographies written by people with autism can help identify sensory processing differences that might be viewed as possible attributes in an enabling society, but for which ableist perceptions are often negative. In concrete terms, these constructions may be preventing people from entering employment and making an economic contribution. The first autobiography written by someone who identified as being on the autism spectrum was by David Eastham in 1985. Since then, over 50 such books have been published. The emergence of such autobiographies challenges assumptions about what it is to be on the autism spectrum. It was often assumed people with autism were incapable of such social communication, as autobiographies assume abilities such as self-awareness, imagination and the ability and desire to communicate. These were all traits that were thought to be absent in someone diagnosed with autism. Consequently, the presence of these autobiographies destabilises and questions the dichotomy that was set up between what constitutes ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’ behaviour.     

The care manager’s dilemma: balancing human rights with risk management under the Intellectual Disability (Compulsory Care and Rehabilitation) Act 2003

In New Zealand, the Intellectual Disability (Compulsory Care and Rehabilitation) Act 2003 provides diversion for persons with an intellectual disability who have been charged with, or convicted of, a criminal offence. This unique Act moves the responsibility for such ‘care recipients’ from the criminal justice system to a disability sector that values a social model of disability and philosophies of autonomy, choice and normalisation. This research identified dilemmas faced by care managers legally responsible for care recipients. Care managers experienced: tension between imperatives of risk management, rehabilitation and human rights; role ambiguity between ‘custodian’ or ‘therapist’; philosophical incongruity within their services; and ethical dilemmas over decisions to lengthen care orders. The changing care recipient population has intensified these dilemmas: services must now adapt to the needs of young, street-wise people with alcohol and drug problems and histories of criminal behaviour. The article makes recommendations about how these dilemmas can be addressed.     

Deconstructing language practices: discursive constructions of children in Individual Education Plan resource documents

Although Individual Education Plan (IEP) resource documents in Ontario, Canada aim to assist children in achieving their special educational goals, a point of disjuncture exists between the documents’ intentions and children’s actual experiences. Addressing this issue is crucial in preventing inequity and fostering educational development and social well-being for children. We employ critical discourse analysis informed by disability theory to deconstruct the language practices used to conceptualize children in IEP resource documents. Our purpose is to question the underlying assumptions regarding representations of children and illuminate the potentially harmful consequences of such conceptions. We expose the presence of both neutral and harmful language practices and consider how such language may shape the way the documents translate from policy to practice. This study offers a model through which the language of other special education documents can be critically evaluated and proposes potential avenues for creating documents that avoid disabling children further.     

“From cause to cure”: A qualitative study on contemporary forms of mother blaming experienced by mothers of young children with autism spectrum disorder

ABSTRACT

In the past, the behaviours and personalities of mothers have been identified as potential causes of autism. More recently, other etiological hypotheses have been used to explain autism spectrum disorder, suggesting that this specific type of mother-blaming is now uncommon. However, some authors have pointed out that mothers are still being held responsible for their children’s condition and behaviours, as they are now expected to extensively promote their children’s development. The present article explores contemporary forms of mother-blaming experienced by thirteen mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder. The results are discussed in relation to the consequences of mother-blaming, such as social isolation and health related problems. It is hoped that this article will encourage social workers and professionals to understand the mothers’ perspectives and to recognize the importance of supporting them without generating or increasing mother-blaming.     

The Azaan clock

The centenary of the Natives Land Act of 1913 offers an avenue through which we can rethink and debate post-apartheid land reform. This paper focuses on how this Act epitomised the culmination of ideas about state and society and also laid the foundation for the social geography of the country. The Act set the stage for the configuration of the country through land as a tool for spatial planning. The principal objective of the paper is to highlight aspects of the Act that have cemented the social geography of the country, and to reflect on how and why those aspects continue to impede the redrawing of social and territorial borders in post-apartheid South Africa. The paper calls for a deeper reflection on the philosophical and material meanings that the Natives Land Act embodied, and how these have been disrupted or reinforced in whole or parts by post-apartheid policies and programmes.     

Aetna fined for parity violations in Pennsylvania

This month, Aetna was fined $190,000 for not complying with the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. Specifically, the health insurer did not cover substance use disorder (SUD) and autism spectrum disorder as it was required to, according to a review by the Pennsylvania Department of Insurance. Aetna used “confusing policy language which could have led consumers to inaccurately believe they did not have coverage for certain substance use disorder services,” according to the insurance department. “While the department reviewed many priority areas through this examination, a significant focus was on the company's compliance with laws requiring parity of coverage for substance use disorders and mental health, which must be offered at the same level of benefits as medical or surgical treatment,” Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Jessica Altman said in a statement. She added, “Violations included incorrect application of copays, coinsurance and visit limits, as well as violations involving prior authorization for treatment and step therapy.”     

Acquisition of Mands,Tacts, and Intraverbals Through Sign Exposure in an Individual With Autism

Many children with autism communicate through the use of alternative communication systems, such as sign language. Limited research has been conducted on the situations under which sign language will be acquired across verbal operants without direct teaching. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate exposure to sign language on the acquisition of signed mands, tacts, and intraverbals in a male child with autism. Results indicated fast acquisition of mands, tacts, and intraverbals without direct teaching. Results are discussed in the context of future research investigating exposure without direct teaching in individuals who communicate with alternative communication systems.     

Critical autism studies: exploring epistemic dialogues and intersections,challenging dominant understandings of autism

In this paper we explore how our cultural contexts give rise to different kinds of knowledges of autism and examine how they are articulated, gain currency, and form the basis for policy, practice and political movements. We outline key tensions for the development of critical autism studies as an international, critical abilities approach. Our aim is not to offer a cross-cultural account of autism or to assume a coherence or universality of ‘autism’ as a singular diagnostic category/reality. Rather, we map the ways in which what is experienced and understood as autism, plays out in different cultural contexts, drawing on the notion of ‘epistemic communities’ to explore shifts in knowledge about autism, including concepts such as ‘neurodiversity’, and how these travel through cultural spaces. The paper explores two key epistemic tensions; the dominance of ‘neuro culture’ and dominant constructions of personhood and what it means to be human.     

‘The domino effect’: pathways in and out of homelessness for autistic adults

Autistic adults may be at increased risk of homelessness due to the association between autism spectrum disorders and poor socio-economic outcomes. In particular, social vulnerability, unemployment, and difficulty interacting with services can be catalysts for homelessness, compounded by lack of diagnosis and appropriate support. This article presents the narratives of two autistic adults, known as ‘Max’ and ‘Peter’, who had experienced homelessness. They explain the factors which led them to become homeless and those that aided their rehabilitation. The article argues that whilst Max and Peter were susceptible to the socio-economic disadvantages which affect adults with autism in various ways, the resilience and determination displayed in their narratives countered traditional stereotypes of resistance to change. Furthermore, it is suggested that homelessness is not an outcome of autism, but of the disabling barriers autistic adults face throughout their lives.