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ScholarWorks > HHS > Social Work > JSSW > Vol. 51 > Iss. 1 (2024)

 

Keywords

Ableism, call to action, disability, disability justice, social work

Abstract

Despite social work’s commitment to social justice, ableism remains rampant among social work programs. Students and faculty often have to fight in order to have their basic accommodations and access needs met, disability is frequently missing from social work education’s discussions of diversity, and it is often implied that disabled people will be our clients, while social workers themselves are non-disabled. There is a glaring gap in our profession when it comes to engaging with and supporting disabled individuals. More than that, basic access is not enough; rather, we must work towards active inclusion and affirmation in order to be truly just. Beyond this, we consider how our disabilities can also support us in bringing critical lenses, pedagogies, scholarship, and practices. We recognize shifting social work is done slowly, through measured progress. While we believe that there are deeply needed systemic changes in social work in order to align more closely with disability justice, we would also like to offer some easier changes towards disability inclusion: action steps that many programs and organizations can use to begin these changes. These opportunities include hiring and supporting disabled staff/faculty, the inclusion of crip theory and disability justice within social work curriculum, naming of/engaging disability and ableism as part of diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI) efforts, reframing social work’s approach to disabled people (e.g., moving towards an interactional model; more accessible conferences [including virtual options]; increasing part-time and online programs; using universal design for learning [UDL] in curriculum and syllabi design; cross movement solidarity; ensuring a wide variety of accessible/affirming field placements). We view these as first steps we can change now, while also addressing the deeper structures of ableism within our schools of social work, such as assumptions that more (publications/grants) is better, and that individual “expertise” trumps the knowledge that comes from collaborative, interdependent teams.

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