We don’t talk enough about disability in social work. We certainly don’t talk enough about it when we consider that 25% of the US population experiences some form of disability (CDC, 2018). Specifically, social workers don’t discuss ableism (prejudice and discrimination against people with disabilities) and how it affects our profession inside and out. We also don’t discuss ways to make the social work profession truly accessible. How do we make our profession accessible from physical, sensory, cognitive, and emotional standpoints? We need to have that conversation.
I love this profession, and I believe we can do better. With that in mind, I’ve created the hashtag #CrippingSocialWork so that disabled social workers*** can find community and nondisabled allies can learn from us. It’s important to note that I use the term “crip” here because disabled people have reclaimed it as a positive term of disability pride and empowerment. It is firmly rooted in disability justice culture, which was pioneered by women of color–namely Patty Berne of Sins Invalid, Mia Mingus, and the late Stacey Park Milbern. Patty Berne (2020) explained that the disability justice movement seeks to center the voices of those most marginalized, including Black or Indigenous people of color and others who have historically been overlooked by the Disability Rights movement. Social work has a great deal to learn from disability justice culture. #CrippingSocialWork in particular was inspired by #CripTheVote, a hashtag created by Alice Wong and Andrew Pulrang (#CripTheVote, 2018). Why am I #CrippingSocialWork?
I’m #CrippingSocialWork because this profession, as it stands right now, is not one in which I feel I can breathe freely as a disabled social worker.
I’m #CrippingSocialWork because disabled social workers deserve to feel that our profession welcomes us, our perspectives, and our wisdom.
I’m #CrippingSocialWork because disabled social work students deserve to see disability representation in this profession.
I’m #CrippingSocialWork because our disabled clients deserve to feel heard and understood.
I’m #CrippingSocialWork because nondisabled social workers need to develop cultural humility around disability.
I’m #CrippingSocialWork because dismantling ableist systems is anti-oppressive practice.
I’m #CrippingSocialWork because every social work issue is a disability issue:
- Child welfare (children) (Slayter, 2016)
- Child welfare (parents) (NCD, 2012)
- Criminal justice (ACLU, 2020)
- Education (The Arc [a])
- Environmental justice (Yu, 2019)
- Food security (Coleman-Jensen & Nord, 2013)
- Healthcare (DREDF, 2020)
- Housing (The Arc [b])
- Immigration (CNLD, 2018)
- Intimate partner violence (NCADV, 2018)
- Juvenile justice (Davis, 2015)
- LGBTQ+ rights (MAP, 2019)
- Mental health and substance use disorder treatment (SAMHSA, 2019)
- Racial justice (R, 2020)
All of these issues we care about in social work (and more) intersect with disability in some meaningful and important way.
I’m #CrippingSocialWork because disability is a social work issue.
To my fellow disabled social workers: what does #CrippingSocialWork mean to you? Nondisabled social work allies–I challenge you to ask the disabled social worker(s) in your life what #CrippingSocialWork means to them. What will you do to make the profession more accessible to disabled social workers?
Together, we can change the conversation around disability in social work. I believe in us.
Plain-language summary:
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Social workers don’t talk about disability enough. We don’t talk about ableism and access. I made the hashtag #CrippingSocialWork to talk about these things. Allies can also use the hashtag to learn from disabled people. Disabled social workers and students deserve to feel valued. We deserve to see ourselves in social work. We need to serve our disabled clients well. Disability justice is part of social justice. Social work issues are disability issues. Disability is a social work issue. What does #CrippingSocialWork mean to you? What does #CrippingSocialWork mean to your disabled friends? I love this profession. I believe we can do better.
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***Language use around disability can be a contentious issue. Different parts of the disability community disagree about which language to use. Some disabled people prefer person-first language. Others prefer identity-first language. Person-first language is “people with disabilities.” Identity-first language is “disabled people.” The author of this post has chosen to use identity-first language. However, either one is valid. Social workers should respect the language clients or students use to refer to themselves and their disabilities.
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Lynne Fetter is a disabled MSW student at Virginia Commonwealth University. She completed her generalist internship at the Center on Transition Innovations at VCU and will be interning at VCU’s Partnership for People with Disabilities starting in the fall of 2020 during her concentration year in Social Work Administration, Planning, and Policy Practice (SWAPPP). She has a particular passion for speaking and writing about disability representation in social work.
References
#CripTheVote. (2018, March 27). Frequently asked questions. #CripTheVote. https://cripthevote.blogspot.com/2018/03/frequently-asked-questions.html
American Civil Liberties Union. (2020, July 2). Disability rights and the criminal legal system. https://www.aclu.org/issues/disability-rights/disability-rights-and-criminal-legal-system?redirect=issues/disability-rights/disability-rights-and-criminal-justice
The Arc. (n.d. [a]). Education. https://thearc.org/policy-advocacy/education-policy-advocacy/
The Arc. (n.d. [b]). Housing. https://thearc.org/policy-advocacy/housing/
Berne, P. (2020, June 16). What is disability justice? Sins Invalid. https://www.sinsinvalid.org/news-1/2020/6/16/what-is-disability-justice
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2018). CDC: 1 in 4 US adults live with a disability. https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2018/p0816-disability.html
Coalición Nacional Para Latinxs con Discapacidades (CNLD). (2018, February 21). Statement on policies regarding immigrants and refugees with disabilities. http://www.latinxdisabilitycoalition.com/uploads/7/4/2/0/74201671/cnld_sign-on_immigration_refugees_disability_english.pdf
Coleman-Jensen, A., & Nord, M. (2013, May 6). Disability is an important risk factor for food insecurity. USDA Economic Research Service. https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2013/may/disability-is-an-important-risk-factor-for-food-insecurity#:~:text=A%20number%20of%20studies%20have,or%20a%20low-quality%20diet
Davis, L. A. (2015, November 12). Youth with disabilities in the juvenile justice system: A nationwide problem. The Coalition for Juvenile Justice. https://www.juvjustice.org/blog/971
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF). (2020, January 3). Healthcare access. https://dredf.org/healthcare-access/
Movement Advancement Project (MAP). (2019). LGBTQ people with disabilities. https://www.lgbtmap.org/file/LGBT-People-With-Disabilities.pdf
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV). (2018, March 13). Domestic violence and people with disabilities: What to know, why it matters, and how to help. National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. https://ncadv.org/blog/posts/domestic-violence-and-people-with-disabilities#:~:text=People%20with%20disabilities%20are%20three,crime%20against%20men%20with%20disabilities
National Council on Disability (NCD). (2012). Rocking the cradle: Ensuring the rights of parents with disabilities and their children. https://ncd.gov/sites/default/files/Documents/NCD_Parenting_508_0.pdf
R, A. (2020, July 20). The burden and consequences of self-advocacy for disabled BIPOC. Disability Visibility Project. https://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/2020/07/19/the-burden-and-consequences-of-self-advocacy-for-disabled-bipoc/
Slayter, E. (2016). Youth with disabilities in the United States child welfare system. Children and Youth Services Review, 64, 155-165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.03.012
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). (2019). Mental and substance use disorder treatment for people with physical and cognitive disabilities (PEP19-02-00-002). https://store.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/d7/priv/pep19-02-00-002_508_022620.pdf
Yu, T. (2019, April 23). It’s time to recognize climate change as a disability rights issue. Rooted in Rights. https://rootedinrights.org/its-time-to-recognize-climate-change-as-a-disability-rights-issue/
#CrippingSocialWork 
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