Disability in the Family

ABSTRACT

This paper describes a vision for reworking social work's frequently marginal commitment to disability work. Through the lens of an interdisciplinary Maternal Child Health project for children with neurodisabilities and their families, it advocates for several shifts in the profession's commitments. These include a heightened focus on disability practice, a non-pathologizing family-centered approach, the integration of direct and indirect social work methods, and the membership of social workers in interdisciplinary teaming efforts designed to work with families who have children with disabilities. The paper also describes an interdisciplinary project opportunity for students, educators, and practitioners to renew their commitment to families who have children with disabilities in the current practice context and suggests some strategies for generalization to all social work students.

Key Words:

• Disability work
• integrated practice
• interdisciplinary contexts