1. Demonstrate the following knowledge and understanding of the contribution socially constructed notions of “childhood development” and “life-course progression” make to the conceptualisation of disabled children.
2. Demonstrate the following skills and abilities: Analysis of the impact of dominant models and impairment on the conceptualisation and treatment of disabled children.
What am I required to do in this assignment?
Individually, you will develop a PowerPoint Presentation using a case study to analyse the way concepts of childhood, family, disability and impairment impact upon the way disabled children are treated and conceptualised.
You are to submit the PowerPoint presentation to grade centre and you also have to submit detailed notes with the
PowerPoint slides. These notes must reflect what you would have spoken had you been standing in front of an audience. The notes should be structured according to your slides i.e., each note of each slide should reflect what you would say in the oral presentation if you were presenting each slide. The notes should be presented in the notes section of the Power-Point. Please see the unit’ breo ‘Assessment& Feedback’ shell for a video on how to add notes on PowerPoint. If you are unable to add notes in the notes section of a PowerPoint, you can put a ‘notes slide’ after each presentation slide. For example, slide 1 presentation slide, slide 2 notes narrating what you would have said about slide 1 presentation slide, slide 3 presentation slide, slide 4 notes speaking to slide 3 and so on.
What do I need to do to pass? (Threshold Expectations from UIF)
In order to pass the assignment, you will need to:
Select, research and analyse a specific case study scenario relating to disabled children and young people.
Discuss the ways in which current service provision serves to challenge or reinforce dominant constructions of
children/young people and their families.
Assess the role of the state and positioning of the family in relation to disabled children/young people.
Below are the case studies you need to use for your assignment. Choose ONE for your assignment. Below each case study are some useful and relevant readings dealing with some issues highlighted in each case study. Please do
not just stop at reading these sources, or the ones relevant for your case study, there may be other sources under other case studies that may also be relevant for your selected case study. Also go further and add more to your
reading and sources you will use to support points made in your work, do not only stick with the ones on here.
Chris 17 year old Chris was involved in a car accident 3 years ago which left him paralysed from the waist down. It took a long time for Chris to recover. Chris has always been independent and while he knew his life would change dramatically, he was not prepared for the treatment he would receive being out and about using his wheelchair. It appears, that some people assume that Chris cannot do anything for himself, which is evident when they act surprised when Chris mentions anything related to work. Some strangers have approached him talking to him as if he had a low IQ. Chris also hates being involuntarily pushed in his wheelchair, a regular occurrence when he organises a ramp to get on and off a train. While Chris appreciates that people are just trying to help, the loss of control can feel quite terrifying. Chris likens it to asking someone for directions, and them putting their hands on your shoulders and pushing you the right way, rather than giving you the information. Any night out has to be meticulously planned, as Chris faces access barriers to certain venues and many train and underground stations do not have stair free access. Even catching a bus can be a problem, if mothers refuse to fold up their pushchairs so that Chris can use the space. This prevents Chris form doing anything spontaneous with his friends and girlfriend. Some people have commented to Chris and his girlfriend that he is so lucky to have an amazing partner, Chris’s girlfriend
usually replies with “actually I’m very lucky to have him”. On a date night with his girlfriend, Chris was attacked in the street by a random stranger who claimed “it’s not right that a spaz like you should be with a pretty girl like her”.
Some relevant readings: Aitchison, C. (2003). From leisure and disability to disability leisure: Developing data,
definitions and discourses. Disability & Society, 18(7), 955-969. Direct Link: shorturl.at/ntOQX
Shuttleworth, R., Wedgwood, N., & Wilson, N. J. (2012). The dilemma of disabled masculinity. Men and masculinities, 15(2), 174-194. Direct link: shorturl.at/bhoBN File Narratives of Athletic Identity After Acquiring a Permanent Physical Disability. Direct link: shorturl.at/qFWY0 Roulstone, A., Thomas, P., & Balderston, S. (2011). Between hate and vulnerability: unpacking the British criminal justice system’s construction of disablist hate
crime. Disability & Society, 26(3), 351-364. Direct link: shorturl.at/ajsH2 Connors, C., & Stalker, K. (2007). Children’s experiences of disability: Pointers to a social model of childhood disability. Disability & Society, 22(1), 19-33. Direct Link: shorturl.at/cstFW Claire It took a long time before 12 year old Claire was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Doctors initially never believed her or her parents, blaming other
factors such as lack of exercise and depression for her sluggishness and inability to function. The symptoms of CFS indicate that there is a problem with the central nervous system. Claire also experiences negative attitudes about her condition from her school peers; pain can be invisible to the outside world and they just fail to understand that her condition fluctuates. For instance, when Claire was invited to a birthday party she was having a particularly good day and so had the energy to join in all the activities. Little did her friends realise that the day wiped her out for the
following few days. Seeing Claire with energy on some days and commenting on how bad she feels on other days, reinforces a notion amongst her peers that she is somehow “faking it”. If Claire is having a bad day she needs to use a wheelchair to reserve her energy. The first week she used her chair, she heard her peers mutter “she’s such a drama queen”. Claire is feeling increasingly isolated and there are fewer invitations to go out with other young people her age. Claire had a particularly bad few weeks which prohibited her from attending school. The school requested a meeting with Claire’s parents to discuss her attendance. Claire’s Mum felt that the head-teacher did not seem convinced by Claire’s illness despite being provided with Dr’s letters. Claire’s parents worry the school will
exclude her and request that the county council support them in making some adjustments to the school day and perhaps provide funds for some home tuition while she was so ill. The council however refused to provide this service. Some relevant readings: Stenhoff, A. L., Sadreddini, S., Peters, S., & Wearden, A. (2015). Understanding medical students’ views of chronic fatigue syndrome: a qualitative study. Journal of health psychology, 20(2), 198-209. Direct link: shorturl.at/cwIJW James, K. (2009). Myalgic encephalopathy: Sustaining an education. British Journal of School Nursing, 4(3), 120-123. Direct link: shorturl.at/fhBEQ Webb, C. M., Collin, S. M., Deave, T., Haig-Ferguson, A., Spatz, A., & Crawley, E. (2011). What stops children with a chronic illness accessing health care: a mixed methods study in children with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME). BMC Health Services Research, 11(1), 1-8. Direct link: shorturl.at/bkzRT Connors, C., & Stalker, K. (2007). Children’s experiences of disability: Pointers to a social model of childhood disability. Disability & Society, 22(1), 19-33. Direct Link: shorturl.at/cstFW Katie Katie is 14 years old and has Asperger’s syndrome. Katie finds it difficult to read people’s facial expressions and tone of voice and is often unsure of how to respond. This has made her feel anxious in big social gatherings and she is often known to stare at the floor in these situations. Katie wants to be sociable and make friends but finds it difficult to initiate conversations. Katie’s Mum Sue was relieved that Katie had met some friends when she started secondary school though it soon became apparent she was being used as a source of amusement and bullied by people she believed to be her friends. Katie is not easily able to differentiate banter from bullying and wanted desperately to fit in; which consequently meant that she accepted the taunts. The school appropriately managed the harassment she was experiencing though this did not help Katie with her feeling of isolation and lack of friends. Katie increasingly spent more time at her computer on social networking sites. For Katie, social media was an easier forum to engage with others. A few months later, Sue received a phone call from a friend who had taken her daughters phone and found explicit pictures of Katie. It became apparent that Katie had been communicating with a 50 year old man; though Katie thought that she had
been chatting to a girl her own age. Katie is very trusting and tends to take people at their word; and therefore had initially agreed to send an image of herself. Although, she soon decided that she was not going to send anymore because she did not think it was right. However, the person she was chatting to started making threats about posting up the existing photographs onto Facebook as well as other threats to hurt her and her family. Sue had noticed that Katie had become very withdrawn but had always maintained that she was fine. The police were soon involved and the man who had groomed Katie was convicted. Soon after Sue and Katie decided a fresh start was needed and moved out of the area. Although, Katie seems much happier Sue feels she is now very overprotective of Katie which hinders her from making new friends. Some relevant readings: Meeting the Needs of Children and Young People with Learning Disabilities who Experience, or are at Risk of, Child Sexual Exploitation; direct link to source: shorturl.at/djkCX Worth, N. (2013). Making friends and fitting in: A social-relational understanding of disability at school. Social & Cultural Geography, 14(1), 103-123. Direct link: shorturl.at/gwDY0 Schultz, S. M., Jacobs, G., & Schultz, J. (2013). A promising practice: Using facebook as a communication and social networking tool. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 32(4), 38-44. Direct Link: shorturl.at/hlwMU Sexual Violence against Children and Vulnerable People. Direct Link: shorturl.at/jtMX1 Connors, C., & Stalker, K. (2007). Children’s experiences of disability: Pointers to a social model of childhood disability. Disability & Society, 22(1), 19-33. Direct Link:
shorturl.at/cstFW Cai Nisha and Dev are parents to a disabled child named Cai who is 10 years old. Nisha and Dev have two other older children Lubna 12 and Ayran 14. Cai is ten years old and has Down’s syndrome. So far, Cai has been educated within mainstream education. However, in the last two years Cai has become increasingly unhappy and unwilling to go to school. He often asks his teachers if he can join the class in key stage one (age 5) where he has friends. Nisha suspects Cai might be regularly bullied and was informed by his teacher of an incident where other children had been teasing him. Cai struggles to keep up with the teaching sessions, although he does have the support of a special needs assistant who he really likes. However, Nisha is concerned that Cai may not be receiving the support to achieve his full potential, particularly as his teaching assistant is not SENCO trained. Moreover, Nisha
questions whether he might be better off in a special needs institution where he might gain friends, learn at his own pace, receive specialist attention, and participate in sessions that give him life skills and teach independence. Nisha researches the special needs institutions within the Cornwall region where the family live, but soon becomes sceptical about the quality of provision of the special educational needs institutions which could offer Cai a place. Eventually, she finds a school which appears to cater for all aspects of Cai’s needs. However, the school is 200 miles away in the city of Bristol; which would require Cai to live away from the family home. Nisha never anticipated raising a child for them to leave home at this young age which causes her some distress. Nisha worries that she will be left ignorant if anything were to happen to Cai or if he were unhappy. When the subject is presented to Cai he looks confused and expresses he does not want to live away from the family home and without his brother, sister and cat Monty. A few more weeks go by and Cai continues to not want to go to school. Another incident emerges at the school where Cai has been the victim of a vicious prank where he was physically assaulted by other school children. Nisha is called into the school to find his teaching assistant trying to persuade Cai out from sitting under the table where he appears scared and upset. Cai’s school teacher is very defensive about the situation and remarks that “we don’t receive enough support for this sort of thing, how can we be expected to teach these children” Some relevant readings: Norwich & Andrew Eaton (2015) The new special educational needs (SEN) legislation in England and implications for services for children and young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 20:2, 117-132, DOI: 10.1080/13632752.2014.989056. Direct link: shorturl.at/ejxOQ
Goodley, D., & Runswick‐Cole, K. (2011). The violence of disablism. Sociology of health & illness, 33(4), 602-617. Direct link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1467-9566.2010.01302.x Shah, S., & Priestley, M. (2010). Home and away: the changing impact of educational policies on disabled children's experiences of family and friendship. Research Papers in Education, 25(2), 155-175. Direct link: shorturl.at/apE05
Living in children’s residential homes. Direct link: shorturl.at/gowUY Connors, C., & Stalker, K. (2007). Children’s experiences of disability: Pointers to a social model of childhood disability. Disability & Society, 22(1), 19-33. Direct Link: shorturl.at/cstFW
