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BJSW Advance Access originally published online on July 19, 2006
British Journal of Social Work 2008 38(1):55-71; doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcl065
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Association of Social Workers. All rights reserved.

Understanding Structural and Communication Barriers to Ordinary Family Life for Families with Disabled Children: A Combined Social Work and Social Model of Disability Analysis

Johanna Woodcock and Claire Tregaskis

Johanna Woodcock is Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Plymouth and her publications concern the social work assessment of parenting; and UK perspectives in global comparative research.

Claire Tregaskis is a Research Fellow at the University of Plymouth, with publications researching and developing social model theory across a range of health, social care, educational and recreation practice settings.

Correspondence to Johanna Woodcock, School of Applied Psychosocial Studies, Faculty of Health and Social Work, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK. E-mail: J.Woodcock-1{at}plymouth.ac.uk


  Abstract

This research, constituting secondary data analysis of a current Economic and Social Research Council funded programme of research with parents with disabled children in two areas in Northern England, responds to policy and practice prescriptions for family support services to be responsive and inclusive to a diversity of parenting situations (Department for Education and Skills, 2003; Social Services Inspectorate, 2004). An innovative research methodology, involving the collaborative analysis of a social work researcher and disability studies researcher, was used to gain a more holistic understanding of the issues in working with social work populations by investigating the concerns of a normative population. Findings identified a number of barriers to inclusion even for mainstream disabled families, particularly in the area of parent–social worker communication. The paper provides an initial contribution to current social work concerns of the need to improve the theoretical underpinning of ‘specialist social work communication skills’ for different practice settings (Social Care Institute for Excellence, 2004) by identifying communication issues and skills for work with parents of disabled children. Moreover, as secondary analysis of qualitative data is rarely reported, the paper provides a useful commentary on this type of research process.

Keywords: disabled children, disabled parents, communication, social work, social model


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