Disabled Clients Are Fellow Citizens? Essay -- essays research papers

Disabled clients argon fellow citizens?Developments in the Disabled Peoples Movement devote brought disability to the fore as a civil rights issue in Britain. Growing numbers of politically active disabled passel rescue generated an awareness of how their rights as citizens are denied by diversity and oppression. step forward of this has emerged the construct of independent living. A philosophy encompassing the full range of human and civil rights necessary for disabled people to be equal members of society. Underpinning this are four key beliefs     that all human life is of value     that anyone, any(prenominal) their impairment, is capable of utilizeing choices      that people who are disabled by societys reaction to physical, mental and sensory impairment and to emotional distress have the right to exert control over their lives     that disabled people have the right to record fully in soc iety (Morris, 199321)The focus of this essay is the potential bout between this philosophy and the policies and practices of affable work. In particular, contrasting interpretations of the client/social work relationship will be examined with regard to their capacity to shelter these ideals. There is ample evidence that disabled people are under the weather housed, less well educated and generally receive less in the way of life-enhancing opportunities when compared to their non-impaired peers (Finklestein (1991). For example, they are four times as likely as non-impaired people to be unemployed, while those who do work receive yield on average 20% lower (RADAR, 1994). Most disabled people, therefore, depose on benefits. Furthermore, those benefits fail to allow for the extra expenses incurred as a resultant role of disability (Cohen, 1996 Thompson, 1996).     Thus it is poverty and poor quality of life resulting from discrimination which creates the need f or social work intervention. Becoming a client, Davies (1981) suggests, is seen as a sign of having given up and as a mark not notwithstanding of failure but of shame (p. 35). This not only further marginalises disabled people from mainstream society, i.e. separates those who are "clients" from those who are not. It also, according to Barton (1993), maintains a..     Cul... ...nd peach, H (eds) (1989)"Disablement in The lodge" Oxford University, Oxford.Payne, M (1991)"Modern Social Work Theory A precise Introduction" Macmillan, London.Smalley, R (1970)"The Functional Approach To fortunework Practice" in Roberts, R., and Nee, R (eds) (1970)"Theories of Social Casework" University of Chicago Press, London.Thompson, N (1993)"Anti-Discriminatory Practice" Macmillan, London.Journals.Barton, L (1993)"The Struggle For CitizenshipThe Case of Disabled People" in Disability, Handicap and Society, Vol. 8(3), p 235 -248.Cohen, R (1996)"The privation Trap" in Community Care, p 26-27, 1-7 August.George, M (1996)"Figure it Out" in Community Care, pullout feature, August 1-7.Morris, J (1996)"Where to Now?" in Community Care, p 25, Sept 26-Oct 2.Oliver, M (1989a) Book Review of hunter (1988) in Disability, Handicap and Society, Vol. 4(1).Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation (1994)"Unemployment" in Donellan, C (ed) (1994).Thompson, A (1996)"The Fight For Rights" in Community Care, P 14-15, 18-24 July.