This is a response to an enquiry about what is meant by 'social role
valorisation'.
It is interesting that this question has cropped up in a discussion forum
which largely (though not exclusively) deals with topics around physical
impairments. I worked for some time in services for people with learning
difficulties, where the writings of Wolf Wolfensberger were widely seen as
extremely helpful in developing a sound theoretical basis for service
design. I've seen very little reference to his work in other disability
contexts, although I believe it would repay the study.
In particular, he put forward the concept of 'normalisation', in which he
proposed that the norms (i.e., widely accepted ideals and values) in
society should be taken as the basis for human service activity, which
could then be assessed according to the degree to which they helped or
hindered people in living lives in accordance with those values. (See his
'Programme Analysis of Service Systems').
The problem was that all sorts of people misinterpreted his line and,
predictably enough, thought he was talking about 'making people normal' -
whatever that means. As you can imagine, this led to some pretty stupid
applications of the principle. Consequently Wolfensberger and others took
to using the phrase 'Social Role Valorisation' (SRV) instead, to imply that
the aim of services should be to support people in gaining access to VALUED
SOCIAL ROLES ( worker, parent, friend, student, citizen, etc.)
This has been applied in the tenets of 'Ordinary Life' , in the sense that
what Jo(e) Public thinks is an acceptable quality of life should apply
equally to disabled and temporarily-non-disabled people, and is another way
of describing social integration as opposed to the 'congregation and
segregation' practices of institutional responses to
disablity/differentness.
I hope more able students of Wolfensberger's work will excuse the summary.
He wrote prolifically and with penetrating insight into the nature of
societal responses to disability and of service systems, and a potted
account will not do him justice.
Also, in view of the recent exchanges about this U.S. doctor, Kevorkian,
who helps people shuffle off this mortal coil, it would be relevant to
revisit Wolfensberger's writing on 'deathmaking' as a major product of the
service industry.
Barry Ruffell
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