The role of professionals in the care of families with handicapped children : a consumer perspective
The role of professionals in the care of families with handicapped children : a consumer perspective
This in-depth consumer study of services to 100 handicapped children and their families investigated the roles of involved professionals, both collectively and as individuals, and examined the way parents perceived their own caring in the context of service provision. A standardised questionnaire was used when interviewing the sample, which contained a balanced distribution of children diagnosed with Spina Bifida, Cerebral Palsy or Down's Syndrome and aged between 0 to 18. The perception of professional roles concerning the physical needs of handicapped children arose little controversy, although improved multidisciplinary co-operation was often recommended. Social needs proved more contentious. Despite the emerging philosophy of the social model of disability medical influences remain pervasive in labelling the handicapped and defining their requirements. Social work intervention - not patterned on the medical model - received widespread criticism for not relating involvement directly to the child's disability and for generally adopting a `crisis intervention' response to a chronic situation. Many families felt professionals were unable to target social need nor routinely offer necessary support. Medical influences were also suggested in the prevailing view of respondents that they were assigned a passive `patient' role. Greater consensus was found amongst users than providers in defining how social needs should be identified and met, and this indicates that the conventional strategy of professional imposition of services on users may need to be adjusted or inverted if progress towards optimal care is to be advanced. At present the social model of disability appears to belong more to theoretical abstraction than practical reality.
University of Southampton
1989
Martin, Susan
(1989)
The role of professionals in the care of families with handicapped children : a consumer perspective.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
This in-depth consumer study of services to 100 handicapped children and their families investigated the roles of involved professionals, both collectively and as individuals, and examined the way parents perceived their own caring in the context of service provision. A standardised questionnaire was used when interviewing the sample, which contained a balanced distribution of children diagnosed with Spina Bifida, Cerebral Palsy or Down's Syndrome and aged between 0 to 18. The perception of professional roles concerning the physical needs of handicapped children arose little controversy, although improved multidisciplinary co-operation was often recommended. Social needs proved more contentious. Despite the emerging philosophy of the social model of disability medical influences remain pervasive in labelling the handicapped and defining their requirements. Social work intervention - not patterned on the medical model - received widespread criticism for not relating involvement directly to the child's disability and for generally adopting a `crisis intervention' response to a chronic situation. Many families felt professionals were unable to target social need nor routinely offer necessary support. Medical influences were also suggested in the prevailing view of respondents that they were assigned a passive `patient' role. Greater consensus was found amongst users than providers in defining how social needs should be identified and met, and this indicates that the conventional strategy of professional imposition of services on users may need to be adjusted or inverted if progress towards optimal care is to be advanced. At present the social model of disability appears to belong more to theoretical abstraction than practical reality.
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Published date: 1989
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Local EPrints ID: 461213
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/461213
PURE UUID: 0b4083c9-3a35-49af-beef-11c235f8039a
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Date deposited: 04 Jul 2022 18:38
Last modified: 04 Jul 2022 18:38
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Contributors
Author:
Susan Martin
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