Middle Tennessee State University
Course SW 4440-1
Social Work with People with Disability

Any student needing to make arrangements for special considerations in assignments due to disabilities, including learning disabilities, are encouraged to discuss these arrangements with the instructor during the first week of class.  We are more than willing to make any accommodations necessary as specified by the Disabled Student Services Office.

 Course Description

This course provides an introduction to social worker perspectives and processes for helping individuals who experience a physical, mental, emotional, sensory, or learning disability and their friends and relatives who provide them care. Individuals at all ages of the life cycle will be included, with special emphasis on children and their families. Some time will be devoted to discussions of disability and its relation to family caregiving. This course is designed for special education and social work students who expect to work with people with disabilities and/or their families. There is no prerequisite, but upper-division status and the completion of special education or social work courses are recommended.

 Course Objectives

      1.   To provide an understanding of social definitions of disability and their personal
             political implication
      2.   To provide an understanding of a range of situations which are described as disabilities.
      3.   To provide an understanding and skills for helping people with disabilities through various
             processes including work with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
      4.    To provide an understanding of ethical issues relevant to work with disabled individuals.

Course Requirements and Assignments
Text: Mackelprang, R. W. and R. O. Salsgiver. (1999) Disability: A Diversity Model Approach In Human Service Practice. Brooks/Cole Publishing Company

THIS IS A WEB ENHANCED COURSE. SOME COURSE ACTIVITIES WILL BE CONDUCTED VIA THE INTERNET AND OTHER PARTS WILL BE CONDUCTED IN THE TRADITIONAL CLASSROOM. TRAINING  ON HOW TO USE WEBCT WILL BE PROVIDED. STUDENTS MUST BE PRESENT  IN CLASS WHEN EACH TRAINING SESSION IS CONDUCTED. YOU WILL REACH WEBCT AT: http://www.mtsu.edu/webct

Course Attendance and Participation;

Points will not be deducted from your grade should you not attend class. However, attendance is  important because critical social policy issues not covered in the text are covered during classroom  discussions and if you are absent you will miss many valuable points raised.

Evaluations and Grading

1. Quizzes: (35 points)

There will be 3 mini exams each worth 5 points.  One take home quiz is worth 20 points. The average of exam scores will constitute 35% of the total final grade.  Three exams will be objective in style (multiple choice, true-false, including essay.) and will be based on assigned reading from the text and classroom lecture and discussion. The take home exam requires you to conduct interviews with persons with disability and/or their families members and friends.

2. Legislative Letter (10 points) Each student will be required to write a letter to a state legislator about an issue that is important to you.  The assignment is different from the advocacy exercise listed below. This assignment is worth 10 points. (See Home Page  for the course for a sample letter)

3. Advocacy Assignment.  (25 point) This Assignment is to be conducted with organizations that concern themselves with improving the quality of lives of persons with disability. SEE COURSE WEB SITE FOR A LIST OF ORGANIZATIONS PROVIDING SERVICES TO PERSONS WITH DISABILITY. THE LIST IS NOT EXHAUSTIVE, OTHERS ARE AVAILABLE.
Each student will also choose an advocacy exercise from the following options:(25 points)

1.  Organizing a political rally or protest. 
2. Attending and speaking at public meetings.
3. Attending and speaking at private meetings.
4. Visit a local or state public official and advocate your position on the issue of your choice (instructor must approve your choice in advance) Organize a letter writing campaign on an issue of your choice.
5. Organize a letter writing campaign on an issue of your choice
6. Organize and conduct a meeting of constituents from the following groups ( State Department Of Rehabilitation Services,  Stand for Children, NAACP, NOW, Family Caregiving policy, etc. Instructor must approve your choice in advance)

An International Conference on Cultural Diversity will be held in Nashville on October 29-31, 2003. Conference Director is Dr. Sharon Shaw-McEwen of the MTSU Social Work Department. One part of the conference will focus on persons with disability. Dr. Richard O. Salsgiver, an author of the course text, has been invited to participate in the conference. Some students may wish to help implement the disability component of the conference to fulfill requirements for their advocacy project.

4. Site Visit. See the home page for instructions for completing the visit. Students may earn (25) points for this assignment.

CLASSROOM PARTICIPATION  Students may earn (5) points for their classroom participation. These 5 points makes it possible to earn 100 points for the course.

Students may select an advocacy project other than one from the list above and on the course web site.  These assignments constitute 25% of the final grade and will require a detailed written summary of the event and your participation in it.  You are to discuss your advocacy project with the course instructor in its initial stage of development. The final report must be 4-5 pages in length. SUBMIT THE  FINAL WRITTEN REPORT THROUGH WEBCT

The final grade will be based on the following scale: 90-100 = A; 80-89 = B;  70-79 = C;  60-69 = D;  and 59 or less = F

Assignments submitted late will be reduced one letter grade.  Assignments must be submitted through WEBCT. Assignments transmitted by e-mail outside WebCt, attachments to WebCt email, facsimiles or diskettes will not be accepted. 

                                                                          Course Outline

Within the broad topics covered in the text the, instructor will lecture about appropriately related subjects of his choice.

Part One
Context For Practice

Chapter 1
Societal and Professional Stereotypes

Chapter 2
Disability Culture

Chapter 3
Disability History In the United States

Chapter 4
Life Stage Development

Part Two
Disability Groupings

Chapter 5
Persons With Mobility Disability

Chapter 6
Deaf and Hard Of Hearing People

Chapter 7
Persons With Visual Disabilities and Blindness

Chapter 8
Persons With Developmental Disabilities

Chapter 9
Persons With Psychiatric Disabilities

Chapter 10
Persons With Cognitive Disabilities

Part Three
Human Service Practice Framework

Chapter 11
Assessment In Human Service Practice

Chapter 12
Model of Professional Practice

Chapter 13
Guidelines For Practice With Persons With Disabilities

                                                                                            Bibliography

1.      Ainlay, Stephen Charles. Day Brought Back My Night: Aging and New Vision Loss. New York: Routledge, 1989. 362.41 Ai6d

2.      Anderson and Clark. Disability in Adolescence. London: Methuen, 1982. 362.4 AN2d

3.      Bennett, Linderfelt, and Nelson. Developing Individualized Family Support Plan. Cambridge, Mass: Brookline, 1990. 362.4 B43d

4.      Luterman, David. Deafness in the Family. Austin, Texas: PRO_ED, 1987. 36242 L97d

5.      Marinelli, Robert P. and Arthur E. Dell Orto.  Forth Edition-1999. The Psychological & Social Impact of Disability. Springer Publishing Company: New York.

6.      Marshak and Seligman. Counseling Persons with Physical Disabilities. Austin, Texas: PRO-ED, 1993 3624. M35c

7.      Meyer, Peck, and Brown. Critical Issues in the Lives of People with Severe Disabilities. Baltimore: Paul H. Brooke Publication, 1991. 362.4 C86m

8.      Nisket, Jan. Natural Supports in School, at Work, and in the Community for People with Severe Disabilities. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publication 1992. 362.4 N21n

9.      Roessler and Bolton. Psychological Adjustment to Disability. Baltimore: University Press.1978. 362.4 R62f

10.  Rothstein, Laura F. (1997-Second Edition) Disabilities and the Law. West Group.

11.  Rycus, Judith S. and Ronald C. Hughes, Field Guide to Child Welfare. Volume III. “Developmental Disabilities and Child Welfare”. CWLA Press Institute for Human Services, Columbus, Ohio.

12.  Sarason and Doris. Educational Handicap, Public Policy, and Social History. New York: Free Press, 1979. 362.3 Sa71e

13.  Schalock, Robert L. Quality of Life: Perspective and Issues. Washington, DC: American Association on Mental Retardation, 1990. 362.38 Q25s

14.  Scherer, Marcia J. Living in the State of Stuck. Cambridge, MA: Brookline, 1993. 362.4 Sch281

Internet Sites

These home page addresses provide important information about people with disabilities.

1.   CH.A.D.D. ---Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder. http://www.chadd.org

2.   US Department of Human Services. http://www.hhs.gov/

            3.   IDEA`97 http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/IDEA

            4.   National Institute of Mental Health http://www.nimh.nih.gov/home.htm

            5.   http://www.ican.com/

            6.  http://www.webring.org/

7   http://www.disability.gov/  Established By President Clinton on the 10^th year anniversary of  ADA

           There are many more sites that provide valuable information about people with disabilities.
            If you discover some sites that you believe are excellent ones, please let the instructor know about them.

                                                                  Videos
These videos relevant to people with disabilities are located in the LRC on campus.

               LRC Numbers                              Titles and Comments        

            --- 6075                         Ways to Move. About medical model vs independence model

            --- At IMRC desk.       Empowering People with Disability Through Technology. 1999. It has no number

            --- 6072                         Without Barriers or Borders. 1999 International view of disability

            --- 6435                         Aging Parents Planning for the Future

            --- 6088                         Attention Disorder. 1998

            --- 6927                         We’re Not Stupid-Living with Learning Disability. 1998

            --- 6074                          Ready to Live. 1995. About adaptive technologies.

            --- 3510                          Educating Peter. 1992. About Down’s Syndrome

            --- 6265                          A Sense of Place. Profiles Individuals with Disabilities.

            --- 5761                          Discussions about Special Education ideas

            --- 1093                          Autism: Breaking Through

            --- 0618                          Learning Disabilities: A Family Crisis

            --- 5768                          Cognitive-Affective Behavior Therapy

            --- 6380                          Cognitive Development

            --- 6073                          Redesigning the Human Machine. 1996 Technological advances in
                                                   creating mechanical substitutes for human joints, bones, and nerves.

   The Next Four Videos Are On Behaviorally Speaking

            --- 4984                          Those First Years

            --- 4985                          Early School Years

            --- 4982                          The Emerging Adult

            --- 4983                          The Adult Years