Demarginalizing Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in Graduate Social Work Education

ABSTRACT

Research on the integration of content about intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in the MSW curriculum indicates that social work students may not be adequately prepared to work with this population. This is despite the high prevalence of IDD and the frequency that individuals with IDD and their families present for services in settings where social workers practice. When content on IDD is present, it often takes a medical perspective, which overlooks issues of social constructionism, systems of privilege and oppression, self-determination, and strengths. Critical disability theory has the potential to better prepare students for sensitive and competent work with people with IDD and ensure that our educational pedagogy in this area is aligned with social work values.

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Notes on contributors

Samantha Fuld

Samantha Fuld is a clinical assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Social Work. She received her DSW in clinical social work from New York University’s Silver School of Social Work where she focused on the impact of trauma and stigma on mental health in people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and worked to promote a critical social model of understanding disability in social work practice. Dr. Fuld is committed to social work education, fostering students’ understanding of anti-oppressive social work practice, neurodiversity, cultural humility and social/institutional models of understanding critical social issues.