Reviewing the evidence for treating addiction among people with intellectual and developmental disabilities

(A version of this article was published in the National Association of Social Workers’ Specialty Practice Section’s ATOD newsletter in fall 2022) Addiction disorders are noted in a small percentage of people with… Continue reading →

Fostering cultural competence with disabled Asian Americans: Moving beyond the model minority concept

This is being shared pre-publication; this essay is in press with The New Social Worker. In recent years, social workers may have paid attention to the Stop Asian Hate campaign, a result of the idea… Continue reading →

“Nothing about us without us:” An intersectional history of disability policy advocacy and activism

The following are the notes for a talk I am giving next week, I wanted to offer the text to people who will not be well-served by Zoom’s often inaccurate captioning system. In… Continue reading →

Beyond inclusion: Creating affirming classrooms for d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing students

Elspeth Slayter, MSW, MA, PhD, Salem State University Cate Thomas, BSW, GradCertLearn&TeachHigherEd, GradDipPA, MPAdmin, PhD, Charles Sturt University We often have d/Deaf[1] and hard-of-hearing students in our university student bodies, but they can, at times, feel excluded… Continue reading →

“School sucks for a blind student:” Creating disability-affirming classrooms for blind students

Co-authored by Ben Chase, BSW Candidate and Elspeth Slayter, MSW, MA, PhD Recently, Ben, a legally blind social work student with partial visual impairment wrote to Elspeth, saying “school sucks for a blind… Continue reading →

Equity-minded practice for social workers

(A slightly different version of this article is coming out soon in The New Social Worker) Lisa M. Johnson, MSW, PhD, Elspeth M. Slayter, MSW, PhD, and Lamont D. Simmons, MSW, EdD, School… Continue reading →

Recognizing ableism’s link to racism – a missing link in anti-racist social work practice

(This article is coming out shortly in Social Work Helper) These days, many social workers are pretty clear that anti-racism is something they need to work consistently on in their practice, but when… Continue reading →

Tough nuts to crack: Initiating a racial justice accountability process within one School of Social Work from one perspective

This narrative reflects on one White woman’s journey as part of a team of leaders in a School of Social Work while focused on developing and implementing an inwards-facing racial justice accountability initiative.

Understanding and acknowledging history as we support people in their vaccine choices

Lamont D. Simmons, M.S.W., Ed.D. and Elspeth M. Slayter, M.S.W., Ph.D. The following essay is the written accompaniment to a workshop to be given by the authors on February 26th, 2021 at the… Continue reading →

What the heck is a confidence interval? A guide for social workers

Sometimes social work research and evaluation documents report “confidence intervals.” These can be reported as ranges of numbers or as lines on a bar graph. Often, social workers I know have not been… Continue reading →

A hack for reviewing empirical literature for evidence-based social work practice in the field

Our social work Code of Ethics calls on us to be evidence-based in our practice, so that we can demonstrate our familiarity with a given practice area and its scholarly references, but there’s… Continue reading →

National social work teach-in on police brutality as a form of structural racism

#SWEduActs, a grassroots group of social work educators, has organized a national social work teach-in on police violence as a form of structural racism for the last week of October 2020.  We are… Continue reading →

Having difficult conversations about police brutality and structural racism in social work classes

This post is dedicated to the social work educators who are participating in the #SWEduActs teach-in on police brutality as a form of structural racism being held the last week of October 2020.… Continue reading →

#CrippingSocialWork: Why Disability is a Social Work Issue

Guest blogger & #Disabled MSW student Lynne Fetter talks about her hashtag activism centered around #CrippingSocialWork & why #Disability is a #SocialWork issue – read & learn more!

On the need to make whiteness visible in white anti-racism social work

One of the beginning tasks of white anti-racism work, I am learning, is to “make whiteness visible.” In order to make whiteness visible to oneself, one must answer the question, “What does my… Continue reading →

Language is power: Two things social workers need to know for practice with disabled people

Did you know that over one fifth of the United States population has an impairment that leads to a disability? Given this, social workers are bound to engage in practice with disabled people… Continue reading →

How “Bachelor in Paradise” can inform social workers about practice with young Black men

You may be asking what a pulpy reality television show about finding a partner could possibly have to contribute to informing social work practice? This season, the “Bachelor” franchise has taken on the topic… Continue reading →

Why social workers shouldn’t be “servicing” clients

Debates about how to refer to the people social workers support through the provision of care and service referrals ebbs and flows. We have moved on from the medicalized “patient” to the more… Continue reading →

A teacher’s response to Charlottesville from a disability perspective

I am currently teaching a course on social work practice with people with disabilities.  The course uses an intersectional lens, acknowledging the fact that people have many intersecting social identities that can result… Continue reading →

By any means necessary: Teaching about social injustice in statistics courses

Teaching statistics to social work students can be challenging on the engagement front.  It is critical to help students make important connections between the use of statistics and the practice of social work –… Continue reading →

On the transformative power of research projects for students

Last weekend, the School of Social Work at Salem State University held a Graduate Social Work Research Symposium.  Twenty-four groups of MSW students presented on their year-long (mostly) community-based research projects.  While the… Continue reading →

Fostering alternative leadership skills among child protection workers

Presentation given at the Council on Social Work Research’s Annual Program Meeting…. Moving beyond supervisory leadership:  Fostering alternative leadership skills among child protection workers Mary Byrne, PhD, LICSW, Salem State University Carol Masshardt,… Continue reading →

Accommodating students with disabilities in field practicum: Challenges and strategies

I was pleased to be part of a team of social work educators from around the United States who will be presenting “Accommodating Students with Disabilities in Field Practicum: Challenges and Strategies” at… Continue reading →

Suicidality in child protection settings: Implications for social work education

Calling all child welfare folks who may be attending CSWE this October 2011 in Atlanta – please attend our panel entitled “Suicidality in child protection settings: Implications for social work education.” This panel… Continue reading →

On engaging social work students students in required research courses

Engaging social work students in required research courses is most often not for the faint of heart.  During AY 2010-2011, I participated in a faculty learning community on this topic.  I am sharing… Continue reading →

On the recent social service worker death in Massachusetts: Work to create a culture of safety

Last week, we received the horrible news that a young woman working in a community residence for people with mental illness had been murdered by a resident in that residence.  Click here or… Continue reading →

Upcoming paper at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting – suicidality and young adults with disabilities

Suicidality and help-seeking behaviors among young adults with disabilities: Implications for suicide prevention Little is known about the prevalence of suicidality among young adults with disabilities. The transition into young adult life is… Continue reading →