Social Work With Autistic People

This book will help social workers and practitioners to find achievable solutions to support autistic people - including those with complex needs - to live fulfilling lives in their communities. Far too many autistic people are currently in inappropriate institutional placements, putting their basic human rights at risk and experiencing a poor quality of life. Good quality support for autistic people is achievable, even in a social care system under pressure. This book will help practitioners to develop high quality community support to facilitate discharges and prevent admissions, by providing them with effective, practical strategies to communicate with and more effectively support autistic people right across the spectrum. Common assumptions and beliefs are challenged, including the idea that 'behaviours' are an inevitable part of autism, and practical approaches are offered to promote autonomy, respect for human rights and empathy with autistic perspectives as a basis for preventing distressed behaviour. This will enable practitioners to support and empower all autistic people to achieve a good quality of life in their communities.

Autism, which includes Asperger syndrome, is a lifelong condition which affects the way in which people interact with the world around them. There are estimated to be 400,000 adults with autism in England, many of whom may require specialised support. Yet the NAO found that most NHS organisations and local authorities do not know how many people with autism there are in the areas they serve, and three quarters of local authorities do not have a specific commissioning strategy for adults with autism. GPs and social care staff have low awareness of autism and how to diagnose it, with 80 per cent of GPs surveyed reporting that they need additional guidance and training in order to identify and treat patients with autism more effectively. Around 200,000 adults with autism do not have a learning disability. This group often fails to secure appropriate support, as health and social care services are traditionally configured for people with a learning disability, a physical illness or disability, or a mental health problem (which autism is not). Three quarters of local authorities said adults with autism who do not meet eligibility criteria experience or report difficulties accessing the services they require. Almost two thirds felt that current services for adults with autism are limited. Providing specialised support could improve outcomes for this group of people and their carers, and potentially enhance value for money, as the costs of establishing such support could be outweighed over time by overall savings. There are few specialised employment support services for people with autism. A lack of understanding of autism is a significant barrier to gaining employment and more training is needed for those delivering employment support and those administering benefits.

This fully revised third edition explores the childhood and adolescent experiences of transgender persons, providing foundational knowledge for social workers and related professions about working with trans and gender expansive youth. Organized through the lens of four distinct forms of knowledge – knowledge of lived expertise, community-based knowledge, practice knowledge, and knowledge obtained through formal/traditional education – this text balances discussion of theory with a range of rich personal narratives and case studies. Updates and additions reflect recent changes to the WPATH guidelines and the NASW Code of Ethics, include brand new material examining the origins of gender identity and non-binary identities, explore intersectional identities, and offer expanded content considering trauma-informed interventions and ethical issues. Each featuring at least one trans or gender expansive author, chapters present concrete and practical recommendations to encourage competent and positive practice. With a focus on both macro and micro social work practice, this book will be a valuable resource to any social service practitioners working with children or adolescents.

An essential desk reference for all helping professionals Social Work in Mental Health: An Evidence-Based Approach is a comprehensive and contemporary guide to the delivery of evidence-based care. Covering a wide spectrum of mental health disorders, editors Thyer and Wodarski have brought together noted experts to provide the most current, empirically supported techniques in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of disorders as classified by the DSM-IV-TR. Coverage ranges from disorders seen in early infancy and childhood through the adolescent and adult years. Disorders covered include: * Autism * ADHD * Substance abuse * Schizophrenia * Mood disorders * Anxiety disorders * Eating disorders * Sexual disorders * Personality disorders * Mental Retardation Written and organized in an accessible style, Social Work in Mental Health: An Evidence-Based Approach provides helping professionals with an engaging and easy-to-follow guide to learning how to deliver the most up-to-date mental health care. Examples of evidence-based interventions guide the reader through the process and provide insight into the philosophy as well as the scientific basis underlying each technique and intervention presented. Chapters begin with learning objectives that alert you to the main ideas covered and conclude with provocative study questions that are designed to test your understanding while providing an opportunity for review and reinforcement of the key concepts covered. Ideal for all helping professionals--from those just starting out to the most seasoned clinician--this guide is a vital reference for anyone looking to stay abreast of contemporary techniques in the delivery of mental health services.

What we think must inform what we do, argue the editors and authors of this cutting-edge social work textbook. In this innovative, expansive and wide-ranging collection, leading social work thinkers engage with social work traditions to bridge social work theory and practice and arrive at social work praxis: a uniting of critical thought and ethical action. Critical Social Work Praxis is organized into sixteen sections, each reflecting a critical social work tradition or approach. Each section has a theory chapter, which succinctly outlines the tradition’s main concepts or tenets, a praxis chapter, which shows how the theory informs social work practice, and a commentary chapter, which provides a critical analysis of the tensions and difficulties of the approach. The text helps students understand how to extend theory into praxis and gives instructors critical new tools and discussion ideas. This book is the result of decades of experience teaching social work theory and praxis and is a comprehensive teaching and learning tool for the critical social work classroom.

This book will provide you with the initial developing knowledge and skills needed to practice ethically and effectively in diverse settings with a range of adults. Written in collaboration with service users, carers and practitioners, its unique collaborative approach will enable you to learn from real lived experience. Since launching in 2003, Transforming Social Work Practice has become the market-leading series for social work students. These books use activities and case studies to build critical thinking and reflection skills and will help social work students to develop good practice through learning. These books are: · Affordable · Written to the Professional Capabilities Framework · Mapped to the social work curriculum · Practical with clear links between theory and practice

Every day, social workers deal with individuals, families, and groups struggling with problems that are often chronic, persistent, acute, and/or unexpected. When community and family support systems are weak or unavailable, and when internal resources fail, these populations become vulnerable to physical, cognitive, emotional, and social deterioration. Yet despite numerous risk factors, a large number of vulnerable people do live happy and productive lives. This best-selling handbook examines not only risk and vulnerability factors in disadvantaged populations but also resilience and protective strategies for managing and overcoming adversity. This third edition reflects new demographic data, research findings, and theoretical developments and accounts for changing economic and political realities and immigration and health care policy reforms. Contributors have expanded their essays to include practice with individuals, families, and groups, and new chapters consider working with military members and their families, victims and survivors of terrorism and torture, bullied children, and young men of color.