Social Work with People with Disabilities
Syllabus: Spring, 2001

This course provides an introduction to social work perspectives and processes for helping individuals and families who experience a physical, mental, emotional, sensory, or learning disability. Individuals at all stages of the life cycle will be included, with special emphasis on children with disabilities and their families. This course is designed for special education and social work students who expect to work with people with disabilities and/or their families. There are no prerequisites, but upper-division status and the completion of other special education or social work courses are recommended.

1. To provide an understanding of social definitions of disability and their personal and political implications. (This objective assists in student progress toward social work program objectives 1, 4, and 8: see Social Work Program Student Handbook)

2. To provide an understanding of a range of situations which are described as disabilities. (program objective 7)

3. To provide an understanding and skills for helping people with disabilities through a variety of processes including work with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. (program objectives 6 and 10)

4. To provide and understanding of ethical issues relevant to work with disabled individuals. (program objective 2)

1. Class attendance and reading the required assignments are strongly recommended. Class attendance will be recorded by the instructor and will count as 10% of the course grade.

2. The required text is Ordinary Families, Special Children by Seligman and Darling. It is available in either bookstore. It will be used primarily for the section "Focus on the family" (see II. B. below) and for the second exam. It would be a good idea to start it before you prepare for the exam, however, as it is a good book and relevant to many of the topics presented throughout the semester.

Additional reading will be assigned. This will be provided as class handouts or as material on reserve in the library. The bibliography at the end of this syllabus is included to supplement your understanding of the course material and to provide you with sources for class presentations (see 4. below).

3. There will be three exams. These are expected to be placed in the curriculum as noted in the outline below. There will be some modification of the material which they cover if necessary due to topics selected for class presentations. Their specific dates will be announced in class. Exams may be made-up only in the case of an excused absence. Each exam counts as 20% of the course grade.

4. There will be one class presentation done by each student. The topics for these presentations may be any of those in the course outline below from section I.B., "Classification and description of disabilities," section II.A., "Focus on the individual," or section III., "Strategies for Social Action Regarding Populations with Disabilities." These may be done individually or in pairs. Partners will decide whether pairs will be graded individually or as a pair. The individual presentations will be 30 minutes of class time. The pair presentations will be one hour. Both time limits include time for questions and comments from the class; both are expected as part of a good presentation. Bonus points will be given for guest speakers who are professionally or personally involved with disability. When there is a guest speaker, the student or students doing the assignment must also present material to the class. The guest should supplement rather than replace your presentation. Whether or not there is a guest speaker, students are expected to do research to prepare this presentation. A minimum of five academic or professional sources are required. At least one source should come from the internet. A bibliography of sources is a required part of this assignment. This assignment will count as 30% of the course grade. A sign-up sheet will be distributed in class.

5. The course grade will be computed on the basis of the percentages described above. The numerical result of this process will result in the assignment of a letter grade on the following basis:

Any student needing to make arrangements for special considerations in graded assignments due to disabilities, including learning disabilities, are encouraged to discuss these arrangements with the instructor.

I. Definition and Description of Common Disabilities

1. historical background
2. disability as a social construct
3. development of a working definition
4. discussion of related concepts
5. internet resources regarding disability

1. developmental disabilities
2. emotional disabilities
3. learning disabilities
4. visual disabilities
5. auditory disabilities
6. physical disabilities

 C. Exam 1: in-class, open book exam; date TBA

 II. Strategies for Helping People with Disabilities

1. education, including behavior modification
2. medical approaches
3. physical and occupational therapies
4. speech therapy and other communication skills training
5. alternative therapies: nutritional, holistic, spiritual, or other
6. individual psychotherapy or counseling
7. group processes
8. residential care

B. Focus on the family (reading: entire text)

1. introduction to the family as a social system
2. family system reactions to disability
3. professional-family interaction
4. the Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP)
5. models of intervention for work with families

D. Exam 2: in-class, closed book exam; date TBA

III. Strategies For Social Action Regarding Populations With Disabilities (reading on reserve: Marinelli and Orto: Chapters 26, 27 and 30)

A. Focus on local communities

1. expanding community awareness
2. reducing barriers at home and in the community
3. changing classrooms and schools
4. development of self-help and parent groups
5. expanding economic opportunities

B. Focus on the society

1. professional organizations and advocacy groups
2. creating new products and services
3. impacting state and national legislation and administrative processes
4. the use of the judicial system

 IV. Course Summary and Conclusion

A. Discussion

B. Exam 3: take-home exam; due date as scheduled for final, Tuesday, May 8, 10:30 am.

Office Hours

Monday, Wednesday and Friday	10:00 - 11;00 am; 12:00 noon - 12:20 pm
Tuesday and Thursday	9:30 - 11:00 am; 2:00 - 3:30 pm

All of the following are available in the MTSU library. The call numbers for our library are at the end of each entry.

Ainlay, Stephen Charles. Day Brought Back My Night: Aging and New Vision Loss. New York: Routledge, 1989. 362.41 Ai6d

Anderson and Clarke. Disability in Adolescence. London: Methuen, 1982. 362.4 An2d

Bennett, Lingerfelt, and Nelson. Developing Individualized Family Support Plans. Cambridge, Mass.: Brookline, 1990. 362.4 B43d

Luterman, David. Deafness in the Family. Austin, Texas: PRO-ED, 1987. 362.42 L97d

Marshak and Seligman. Counseling Persons with Physical Disabilities. Austin, Texas: PRO-ED, 1993. 362.4 M35c

Meyer, Peck, and Brown. Critical Issues in the Lives of People with Severe Disabilities. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Pub., 1991 362.4 C86m

Nisket, Jan. Natural Supports in School, at Work, and in the Community for People with Severe Disabilities. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Pub., 1992. 362.4 N21n

Roessler and Bolton. Psychosocial Adjustment to Disability. Baltimore: University Park Press, 1978. 362.4 R62f

Sarason and Doris. Educational Handicaps, Public Policy, and Social History. New York: Free Press, 1979. 362.3 Sa71e

Schalock, Robert L. Quality of Life: Perspectives and Issues. Washington, D.C.: American Association on Mental Retardation, 1990. 362.38 Q25s

Scherer, Marcia J. Living in the State of Stuck. Cambridge, Mass.: Brookline, 1993. 362.4 Sch28l

The following are not yet in the library, but are vaulable if you are looking for specific information on aging or head injury. They are available from Prof. Sanborn.

Dell Orto, Arthur E. and Paul W. Power. Head Injury and the Family. Winter Park, FL: PMD Publishers Group, 1994.

Olson, Laura Katz (ed.). The Graying of the World. New York: The Haworth Press, 1994.

The following are available on the internet. Most of these are home page addresses which provide close links to all types of valuable information about disabilities. There are two sources for specific information about ADA and IDEA'97.

ADA Overview "The Americans with Disability Act: A Brief Overview." http://janweb.icdi.wvu.edu/kinder/overview.htm

CH.A.D.D. Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorders home page. http://www.chadd.org/

Federal Resource Center for Special Education home page. http://www.dssc.org/frc/

HHS Department of Health and Human Services home page. http://www.hhs.gov/

IDEA'97 "The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997." http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/IDEA/

NCMRR National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research home page. http://silk.nih.gov/silk/NCMRR/default.htm

NIMH National Institute of Mental Health home page. http://www.nimh.nih.gov/home.htm

OSERS Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services home page. http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS