De senare åren har det gått mode i tal om att sätta individen i centrum inom socialtjänsten. Självbestämmande och delaktighet är hörnstenar i Lag om stöd och service till vissa funktionshindrade (1993:387). Men är brukarens behov styrande i praktiken? I uppsatsen studeras LSS-processen utifrån ett slags organisatoriska ideologier, s.k. professionella logiker, och hur de tar sig uttryck i praktiken. Sedan tidigare är det känt att professionella logiker som domineras av hierarkier respektive av klassisk kompetens konkurrerar med varandra. I det teoretiska ramverket deltar även en brukarmandatslogik.I denna etnografiska kvalitativa fallstudie studeras tre kommuner som i huvudsak har en välskött LSS-verksamhet. Huvudaktörer som studeras är biståndshandläggare på beställarenheter och baspersonal på utförarens boenden men också andra aktörer som filtrerar logikerna studeras. Logikernas principer och praktisk applicering av dessa analyseras utifrån kunskapsbas, kontroll, auktoritet och handlingsutrymme samt dokumentation. I analysen har jag kommit fram till att olika logiker visar sig olika starka i processens olika faser. Ett tydligt exempel på nyinstitutionell särkoppling är den formella uppföljningen handläggare ska göra av hur arbetet faktiskt genomförts i den boendes närmiljö. Här ser vi att den röda tråden som är tänkt att gå från beställare via utförare och tillbaka ibland tar en annan väg eller klipps av någonstans på vägen. Den informella samverkan pekar på större dynamik än den formella i samspelet mellan logikerna. / In the last few years, the idea of person-centered care within social services has grown in popularity, seen from a public discourse driven by the National Board of Health and Welfare. Inclusion and empowerment are cornerstones in the Swedish Act concerning Support and Service for Persons with Certain Functional Impairments (LSS). But is the individual’s mandate the ruling principle also in practice? In this essay, the municipal LSS process is studied from the viewpoint of professional logics and how they manifest in practice. Previous research has been carried out in the fields of classical professional logic and the competing organizational professional logic. Together with these, I examine a user-mandate professional logic. By using the qualitative methods of ethnography and case study, I study agents from three municipalities with an overall well-managed care for the target group. Principal agents are care managers and care givers’ staff working close to the residents. These functions are organizationally separated into different units where the manager investigate the individuals’ needs, forward investigations, and decisions to care givers and then review the given social services. Also studied are other agents that have a filtering function of the logics. The principles and practical application of the logics are analyzed from knowledge base, control, authority, discretion, and authority. In the analysis, I have concluded that the occurrence of the different logics varies in strength in the different phases of the process. One distinct example of an organizational decoupling is the formal review where the thought order of the process could be viewed as a “red thread”, running from manager to care giver and back. The empirics show that the read thread takes another route or is cut off somewhere along the route. The informal cooperation, rather than the formal, indicates greater dynamics in the interplay between the logics.

Having a child with autism results in a unique set of challenges for both parents and siblings. Applied behavior analysis (ABA) has significant empirical support demonstrating its effectiveness as a treatment for children with autism. However, effective behavioral interventions should also consider how the family is affected. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of 8 parents of children with autism who have received ABA treatment and their perceptions of how the family system is impacted by ABA outcomes, specifically focusing on parental well-being and sibling relationship quality. A family systems theoretical framework and phenomenological research method were used. Data were analyzed using content analysis to find the common themes that emerged, which were: parents of children with autism face a high level of stress, but ABA treatment results in a decrease of some sources of stress. Having a child with autism produces strains in family relationships; however, ABA treatment outcomes can help with improved communication between spouses and interactions between siblings. Parents acknowledge challenges associated with ABA treatment but believe that the benefits are worth it. Insights gained from this study were meaningful and practical for professionals who provide ABA treatment to children with autism, as well as for parents of children with autism who may be interested in seeking ABA treatment. Positive social change resulted from the identification of perceived benefits of ABA treatment, such as reduced parental stress and improved relationships amongst all members of the family.

Individuals with intellectual developmental disabilities occasionally exhibit challenging behaviors through forms of aggression. Interventions, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, and applied behavioral analysis, have all been shown to be effective in reducing symptoms of aggression. This quantitative study used a secondary analysis of clinical records from an agency that provides day treatment services for adults with intellectual disabilities. To assess the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program in reducing aggression in this population, 18 individuals with various levels of intellectual disabilities participated in an 8-week MBSR while an additional 18 participants served as the wait list control group and received the same intervention soon after the study was completed. The study examined whether a mindfulness-based intervention can reduce aggression based on the Modified Overt Aggression Scale (MOAS) and also increase participants' awareness of meditation based on the Child Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). A 2x2 ANOVA was used to determine differences between measures, pretest and posttest. Results indicated no differences in aggression before and after the administration of the mindfulness-based intervention for either the experimental or control group. However, CAMM scores indicated that participants came to understand the concept of mindfulness, even though this did not yield measurable changes in their behavioral outcomes. This study will inform clinicians about mindfulness in programs for adults with disabilities and research indicates that MBSR is a program which is beneficial for adults with developmental disabilities and may serve as an additional coping mechanism in dealing with aggression.

Over one tenth of students in postsecondary education have a documented disability as defined by the Americans with Disability Act. However, faculty and course designers often lack understanding of these students' experiences, which leads to insufficient accommodations. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the experiences of students with physical disabilities (SWD) in online courses. The research was grounded in self-determination theory, which posits 3 basic needs for self-actualization: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. This theory in combination with universal design for learning provided a lens for exploring these experiences. Data collection included 8 interviews with postsecondary students with a physical disability. Data were coded using a combination of value codes and organized thematically. Major findings showed that SWD experience barriers in self-regulation, minimizing of their disabilities, pressure to overachieve, specific knowledge of available resources, isolation, and miscommunication. However, through proper online learning, SWD experience benefits in self-regulation, self-pacing, an increasing sense of confidence and pride, stamina, connection to peers, positive discussions, and advocacy for themselves and others. This research has implications for social change as an evidentiary tool for advocacy when exploring the benefits of taking online courses for SWD and as an awareness tool for teachers and other stakeholders in online education who wish to adapt to best practices.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / In this study, I explore the meaning of successful aging among older adults with long-term disabilities. The study is a review of scholarly literature on the subject of successful aging, with a specific focus on older adults with long-term disabilities. The objective is to shed light on the issue by critically examining what research exists and what research is still needed. The purpose of this study was to investigate the following question: What does it mean for an older adult with long-term disability to age successfully? Seven older adults with sensory impairment, either deaf, hearing impaired, blind, visually impaired or a combination of these, were interviewed using qualitative phenomenological research methods. Findings include themes of aging as inevitable, frequent activity, social and family interaction as essential, sense of worth, acceptance of disability, coping and resilience as well as advice to others.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / There is a dearth of literature about post-secondary transition experiences of Black women with dis/abilities (BWD). In this qualitative study, I explore transition experiences of five post-secondary BWD from high school to college in order to privilege her chronicles and narratives as knowledge. In addition, two urban public high school transition coordinators (TC) participated in the study. Three inquiries guided my dissertation: (1) features of educational experiences narrated by BWD, (2) features of transition services provided to students with dis/abilities, including roles of and approaches as described by the TCs, and (3) how BWD narratives may be leveraged to critique and extend transition services as the TCs described them. I engaged in three semi-structured interviews with six of the seven participants (one interview with the seventh). I drew from Disability Studies/Disability Studies in Education (DSE), Critical Race Theory, and Womanist/Black Feminist Theory and their shared tenets of voice and counternarratives and concepts of social construction and falsification of consciousness to analyze the narratives of BWD participants. I drew from the DS/DSE tenet of interlocking systems of oppression, DisCrit tenet three, race and ability, and constructs of Inputs and Outcomes in work on Modeling Transition Education to analyze the TCs’ narratives and in connection to the narratives of the BWD. Across both sets of participants, three themes in the form of Truths emerged; they were terrible and sticky experiences of racial/dis/ability oppression for the BWDs and, imposing of whiteness and normalization within the transition education practices described by the TCs. For the BWD, those terrible and sticky truths took three forms: (a) Pathologization; (b) Disablement; and (c) Exclusion. Another type of truth in the BWD’s narratives, however, was Subverted Truths: (re)defined identities and radical love, (re)placed competence and knowledge, and (revalued sisterhood and community, the ways of pushing back and resisting the Truths and their effects. I discuss implications for BWD post-secondary transition-planning-and-programming theory, research, policy, practice, praxis, and spirituality.

Students who use mobility aids add to the diversity of postsecondary institutions. They provide a unique and important lens on postsecondary campuses. When students who use mobility aids arrive on campus, they need to ensure they have access to classes, services, and resources on campus. Because of their varied needs and varied access from campus-to-campus, students who use mobility aids must advocate for themselves so their needs are met. This phenomenological study examined the role of self-advocacy for postsecondary students who use mobility aids. Five postsecondary students who use wheelchairs were interviewed using a semi-structured interview process that asked questions about self-advocacy and experiences within the postsecondary environment as students who use mobility aids. Data analysis included bracketing of researcher influences on the data, writing descriptions of participant experiences, and horizontalization. The following themes emerged from the data analysis process: Effects of disability on education, Effective and ineffective access, Uses of self-advocacy, and Knowledge for self and others. Findings revealed that the educational pursuits of the study participants were often affected by their disability because of campus access and attitudes of faculty and peers, which made self-advocacy a necessary skill to use while pursuing their education.

This thesis is an attempt to develop a guide or handbook on Child Welfare services in the San Francisco Unified School District. San Francisco Unified school District has never had a complete handbook covering all areas of Child Welfare, although many mimeographed papers and booklets (Counseling and Guidance) describing various departments have been written. In this study it is hoped to give a picture of what actually takes place in the field. This thesis should furnish valuable information to new teachers as well as to those already in the department. and aid members of the staff who meet many of the types of children that will be presented.

Beauty defined by nonvisual means is an area of exploration long overdue. The question on what or whom is considered beautiful or attractive is often left up to each individual, and dependent on the culture in which said beauty is visually seen. This research identified the physical characteristics of Western standards of beauty among women who are visually impaired. The main objective was to explore how women who are visually impaired or blind defined both physical and non-physical beauty, in addition to how they navigated ocularcentric standards of beauty. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 women who are visually impaired or blind that live within the United States. Their interviews were transcribed and analyzed to critique the components of beauty within the cultural lens of women who are visually impaired or blind. What was taken from the data was then used to consider ways in which women can empower themselves without using visual means to define and describe who they are.

No description available.