Intellectual disabilities affect many Australians on a daily basis, and as social workers, we need to maximise their opportunities for choice and participation within their lives. Psychologically, someone has an intellectual disability if their IQ is 70 or below and they have deficits in at least two areas of adaptive behaviour such as self-care or social skills (Intellectual Disability Rights Service, 2009). As social workers, it is important we distinguish between the person and their behaviour or disability (McVilly, 2002). Strategies for these behaviours are needed to address the cause and purpose of the behaviour and not just deter the behaviour and should be done with the most maintenance of their human rights (McVilly, 2002). Maximising
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Recommendations based on a human right approach to better the social work system for people with intellectual disabilities include: improved policy and services, clear referral services and improved delivery of such services (Evans, Howlett, Kremser, Simpson, Kayees, & Troller, 2012). It is hoped that people with disabilities will have the same range, quality and standard of free or affordable health care provided by social workers by using the human rights based approach (Evans et al., 2012). To enable the use of a human rights based approach ethical guidelines have been put in place for designing and supporting intervention strategies for people with a disability. Some of these guidelines include: obtained consent, minimal risk of harm, strategies are not intrusive and there should be a benefit to the person who is taking part of the intervention (McVilly, …show more content…
It requires around the clock advocacy, a person centred approach, knowing their behaviour well, all while keeping a firm handle on upholding their human rights. It is vitally important the social worker knows the person well enough to establish a relationship and start to learn what their behaviours mean. A person centred approach is vital to maximising client choice because it gives the client a name, instead of a number and treats every client individually, as no two people are the same, therefore no two solutions will ever be the same. A person centred approach has benefits for both parties with increased confidence; feelings of empowerment and a more community feel to the residence. While there are many challenges social workers and practitioners can face when trying to implement the approach, the results heavily outweigh the possible negatives. Restraining patients should be used as an emergency response only, when protecting themselves and as well as the client. Restraints do not help a client uphold their human rights, however in the safety of themselves and of others, it is sometimes necessary to do so. Upholding human rights is one of the most important ways to maximise client opportunity because it enables people with an intellectual disability to be treated equally to those who do not. By upholding human rights, it gives the person a sense of freedom and dignity from the
Recommendations based on a human right approach to better the social work system for people with intellectual disabilities include: improved policy and services, clear referral services and improved delivery of such services (Evans, Howlett, Kremser, Simpson, Kayees, & Troller, 2012). It is hoped that people with disabilities will have the same range, quality and standard of free or affordable health care provided by social workers by using the human rights based approach (Evans et al., 2012). To enable the use of a human rights based approach ethical guidelines have been put in place for designing and supporting intervention strategies for people with a disability. Some of these guidelines include: obtained consent, minimal risk of harm, strategies are not intrusive and there should be a benefit to the person who is taking part of the intervention (McVilly, …show more content…
It requires around the clock advocacy, a person centred approach, knowing their behaviour well, all while keeping a firm handle on upholding their human rights. It is vitally important the social worker knows the person well enough to establish a relationship and start to learn what their behaviours mean. A person centred approach is vital to maximising client choice because it gives the client a name, instead of a number and treats every client individually, as no two people are the same, therefore no two solutions will ever be the same. A person centred approach has benefits for both parties with increased confidence; feelings of empowerment and a more community feel to the residence. While there are many challenges social workers and practitioners can face when trying to implement the approach, the results heavily outweigh the possible negatives. Restraining patients should be used as an emergency response only, when protecting themselves and as well as the client. Restraints do not help a client uphold their human rights, however in the safety of themselves and of others, it is sometimes necessary to do so. Upholding human rights is one of the most important ways to maximise client opportunity because it enables people with an intellectual disability to be treated equally to those who do not. By upholding human rights, it gives the person a sense of freedom and dignity from the