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Active Social Work with Children with Disabilities, Julie Adams and Diana Leshone

Active Social Work with Children with Disabilities, Julie Adams and Diana Leshone An area of social work that has had little background support in publications has been social work with disabilities in both the adult and the children’s sectors; there has been criticism of both a lack of understanding of the issues and the lack of changes in the approach to practice within this field (Oliver et al., 2012). For children, this has now been partially rebalanced by the publication of this book. The authors give their target audience as social workers who are in training, newly qualified or those new to this sector, but it provides information that would also be of benefit in keeping up to date with changes in policy and practice. The book is aimed at the UK audience and provides an update of recent legislation with the changes to Education, Health and Care Plans and provides useful information regarding the statutory requirements related to visits to placements under section 17, section 20 and Regulation 48 of the 1989 Children Act. These have often caused confusion within agencies, some leading to Ombudsman referrals where these have been misinterpreted; the clarity of the explanation will be very useful to those managing these situations and decisions. Within my practice, many families have expressed concern regarding the lack of a clear process regarding the transition between children’s services and adult services. A number of changes in provision make this a particularly challenging time for families and young people. Changes are faced in terms of support from education, health and social care and the ability of a social worker to support a family through these challenges can be key. The book reminds practitioners of the need for a special consideration at the point of transition for those young people with disabilities that make coping with change particularly challenging. Information is provided on a number of practical issues such as modes of communication with children with a variety of disabilities and additional needs. Links and explanations are also provided for the many and various communication tools and systems that are available from Makaton and social stories to Total Communication for children with hearing impairments. Chapter 5 looks at the specific communication needs of children with a diagnosis of autism. This includes a description of the different symptoms and behaviours that can be experienced with this diagnosis. The book also serves as a resource to look up the plethora of different terminologies and techniques such as TEACCH, SCERTS, SPELL, etc. This clarity of information will be vital for social workers moving into this field without prior experience. Aspects of values, ethics and discrimination are a focus within the book, with a clear reminder that it is unacceptable to say that the voice of the child cannot be ascertained. Gathering the views of the child is assisted by the consideration of the communication issues and the process of assessment. A section in Chapter 8 considers the need for positive rephrasing, which is of particular importance in times of very high eligibility criteria within agencies. This considers writing from a more positive approach, avoiding saying what the child cannot do, but focusing on what they can do independently, and at what point assistance may be appropriate, which works along the strengths-based approach to social work. Guidance is provided in terms of self-management when dealing with some of the emotional impacts of the work, from dealing with loss and bereavement, for example, to the impact of understanding the diagnoses. Dealing with loss is fundamental in this sector, from the loss of the child that was expected (described by a contributor to the book as going on holiday but arriving in Holland rather than Italy, having planned and prepared, for example, to be speaking in Italian) to working with families whose children require palliative care. Overall, this book covers a mass of areas and information. It will be a useful resource for individuals and teams working in this field. Although parts of the book are aimed at UK legislation and processes, much of the material regarding practice skills would be transferable elsewhere. Reference Oliver M. , Sapey B. , Thomas P. ( 2012 ) Social Work with Disabled People , 4 th edn, Basingstoke , Palgrave Macmillan . Google Preview WorldCat COPAC © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Association of Social Workers. All rights reserved. This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model) http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The British Journal of Social Work Oxford University Press

Active Social Work with Children with Disabilities, Julie Adams and Diana Leshone

The British Journal of Social Work , Volume 49 (5) – Jul 1, 2019

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References (2)

Publisher
Oxford University Press
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Association of Social Workers. All rights reserved.
ISSN
0045-3102
eISSN
1468-263X
DOI
10.1093/bjsw/bcy060
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

An area of social work that has had little background support in publications has been social work with disabilities in both the adult and the children’s sectors; there has been criticism of both a lack of understanding of the issues and the lack of changes in the approach to practice within this field (Oliver et al., 2012). For children, this has now been partially rebalanced by the publication of this book. The authors give their target audience as social workers who are in training, newly qualified or those new to this sector, but it provides information that would also be of benefit in keeping up to date with changes in policy and practice. The book is aimed at the UK audience and provides an update of recent legislation with the changes to Education, Health and Care Plans and provides useful information regarding the statutory requirements related to visits to placements under section 17, section 20 and Regulation 48 of the 1989 Children Act. These have often caused confusion within agencies, some leading to Ombudsman referrals where these have been misinterpreted; the clarity of the explanation will be very useful to those managing these situations and decisions. Within my practice, many families have expressed concern regarding the lack of a clear process regarding the transition between children’s services and adult services. A number of changes in provision make this a particularly challenging time for families and young people. Changes are faced in terms of support from education, health and social care and the ability of a social worker to support a family through these challenges can be key. The book reminds practitioners of the need for a special consideration at the point of transition for those young people with disabilities that make coping with change particularly challenging. Information is provided on a number of practical issues such as modes of communication with children with a variety of disabilities and additional needs. Links and explanations are also provided for the many and various communication tools and systems that are available from Makaton and social stories to Total Communication for children with hearing impairments. Chapter 5 looks at the specific communication needs of children with a diagnosis of autism. This includes a description of the different symptoms and behaviours that can be experienced with this diagnosis. The book also serves as a resource to look up the plethora of different terminologies and techniques such as TEACCH, SCERTS, SPELL, etc. This clarity of information will be vital for social workers moving into this field without prior experience. Aspects of values, ethics and discrimination are a focus within the book, with a clear reminder that it is unacceptable to say that the voice of the child cannot be ascertained. Gathering the views of the child is assisted by the consideration of the communication issues and the process of assessment. A section in Chapter 8 considers the need for positive rephrasing, which is of particular importance in times of very high eligibility criteria within agencies. This considers writing from a more positive approach, avoiding saying what the child cannot do, but focusing on what they can do independently, and at what point assistance may be appropriate, which works along the strengths-based approach to social work. Guidance is provided in terms of self-management when dealing with some of the emotional impacts of the work, from dealing with loss and bereavement, for example, to the impact of understanding the diagnoses. Dealing with loss is fundamental in this sector, from the loss of the child that was expected (described by a contributor to the book as going on holiday but arriving in Holland rather than Italy, having planned and prepared, for example, to be speaking in Italian) to working with families whose children require palliative care. Overall, this book covers a mass of areas and information. It will be a useful resource for individuals and teams working in this field. Although parts of the book are aimed at UK legislation and processes, much of the material regarding practice skills would be transferable elsewhere. Reference Oliver M. , Sapey B. , Thomas P. ( 2012 ) Social Work with Disabled People , 4 th edn, Basingstoke , Palgrave Macmillan . Google Preview WorldCat COPAC © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Association of Social Workers. All rights reserved. This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model)

Journal

The British Journal of Social WorkOxford University Press

Published: Jul 1, 2019

There are no references for this article.