The implications of disability protests for social work practice

This article examines the demands which have been made in the over 800 US protests this author has analyzed. Some demands are cross-disability, meaning they could apply to people with all types of impairments; these include demands for rights and accessibility in all domains. Other demands are disability-specific: they apply to people with specific types of impairments, ranging from mobility impairments to developmental disabilities. Many demands have been related to services, which can be either cross-disability or disability-specific. The paper examines the implications of these demands for social work practice. These include that disability be de-stigmatized by practitioners, that people with disabilities have choices, that they have control over their services, and that all aspects of social work practice be accessible to people with any type of disability.     

A Comparison of Federal Laws Toward Disabled and Racial/Ethnic Groups in the USA

This paper asks if federal legislation for disabled people differs from that for racial/ethnic groups in the United States. It compares the history and content of federal legislation which affects each group, and it compares the ways existing laws for each group handle the issues of employment discrimination, integration in education, access, and equal protection under the law. It shows that there are clear differences in content and coverage for each group in types of discrimination permitted under existing federal laws.