By Daniel Fraser, M.S.W. Candidate
Salem State University
One of my duties as a group home worker certified by the Medication Administration Program (MAP) is to accompany my clients with intellectual disabilities to doctor’s appointments. My clients often state that they feel more comfortable having me go into the examination room with them during such appointments. In my experience, nurses and doctors most often direct their questions to me rather than speaking directly to the client in the room. While in these appointments with my clients, I now realize that most of the time I take part in ableism, by answering any questions posed by the nurses or doctors, instead of referring them to my clients. There are times when I am aware of this happening, yet, I still answer the questions. However, there are also times when I repeat the question asked of me by the nurse or doctor, to my clients, to have them answer the question for themselves.
After reading more about ableism, and the different life experiences explained by the authors of Disability: A Diversity Model Approach in Human Service Practice (Mackelprang & Salsgiver, 2015), I am more aware that my actions in the doctor’s office with my clients is a form of ableism. As such, I am playing a part in the compartmentalization of my clients. It is known that those in the medical profession often tend to compartmentalize persons with disabilities, and not recognize people with disabilities as having the same basic human rights as they have, rather they tend to look down on people with disabilities, almost treating them as someone who is less of a person than them (Mackelprang & Salsgiver, 2015).
Looking back, I can now also see this was something I noticed when I first became certified to administer medications. The very first time I opened the medication book for my clients, I saw the list of medications they had to take, and it seemed to be endless. I remember thinking to myself when I saw the list, “there is no way one person should have to take such a laundry list of medications,” along with thinking, “I wonder how many of these medications counter-balance one another, cancelling out their effectiveness.” Since I have learned about it, I can now see these long lists of medications as a possible result of the application of the medical model of disability (Mackelprang & Salsgiver, 2015). It may be controversial, but it is my belief that my clients are likely only on these medications as a way to either attempt to cure their disabilities, or to speed up the euthanizing process.
Self-awareness of ableism is important, because as social workers, we work toward providing ways for people with disabilities to live their lives as independently as possible. By taking part in ableism, we are continuing to carry on this stigma about people with disabilities, that they are not competent enough to be able to care for themselves, and give their own answers to those in the medical profession.
Daniel Fraser is a candidate for the degree of Masters in Social Work at Salem State University’s School of Social Work. He holds a B.A. in Social Work from Salem State University. He hopes to do clinical work with students who have varying degrees of cognitive and intellectual disabilities with his career. Mr. Fraser has always enjoyed helping people out, and since joining his current place of employment, has really found his niche, where he can help people, and advocate for independence within the disability community. Mr. Fraser can be reached at d_fraser2@salemstate.edu. Mr. Fraser can also be reached via social media at @disabilitysw on Twitter.
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