The power that is bestowed on professionals such as social workers etc.
by our capitalist society is something which sits uncomfortably with me
(as I am a Social Worker). I have, so far, tried to work in areas where
I feel that I can work in a more "enabling" way, such as with parents
and disabled children, in my current work (which is within a voluntary
agency) and prior to this when I worked with lone parents and their
children (not necessarily with disabilities).
In all cases I feel that I have tried to put people in touch with the
services they require, listen to what they really want and need for
themselves, and try to help them achieve it.
I am learning all the time, even after 12 years in this profession, and
would wish that the expertise and knowledge of parents was more valued
by the so-called professionals, particularly within the medical
profession, which still seems to be at the top in the hierarchy with
regard to whose judegements are accepted.
I could have stayed being a volunteer, but chose to train for a
profession which I, at the time, believed would enable me to be a more
effective advocate for people. Even now the letters that I write on
behalf of families are often taken more notice of than those sent by the
families themselves - that doesn't seem right to me, but in a system in
which certain people are bestowed with power, whilst others are not, you
just try to make that system work for those people who cannot access it
easily.
Embarking on Disability Studies has been a conscious decision to try
and understand more fully the issues and struggles which many disabled
people experience in our society. I should like to think that this will
both increase my knowledge and not make me either arrogant or complacent
about what I am doing.
Whilst Laurence might believe that many people are attracted to such
professions because of the power it bestows on them, I for one find it a
burden (except where I can use it to the good of the people for whom I
advocate), and have considered long and hard recently whether I can
continue in Social Work because of the way in which it seems to have
developed into a tool for gatekeeping the provision of services, in
order to keep everything within the budget rather than a service which
users can access and find useful in addressing their needs.
Janet Iles
BSc.Hons, C.Q.S.W.
Student, M.A. Disability Studies (Leeds University)
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