Notwithstanding its commitment to challenging inequalities and promoting the rights and well-being of marginalised groups, the social work profession, particularly in the UK, has somewhat curiously marginalised the deafblind population. Deafblindness receives limited attention in social work education, research, and professional discourse. This is despite its well-documented psychosocial consequences, including impacts on communication, relationships, social participation, and well-being. These are mainstream concepts in social work theory and practice. Such scant attention is especially surprising given the statutory responsibilities placed on social service departments in England, which explicitly recognise the needs of deafblind people. Nevertheless, in this plenary, it is argued that the social work profession has much to offer the deafblind population, considering its approach to assessment, its effectiveness in combining practical and emotional support, and its ability to coordinate care and support. It will encourage social workers to develop expertise in deafblindness and to specialise in the field, whilst also calling upon the research community to ensure it involves social work practitioners and academics in multidisciplinary study. Strengthening these connections will not only benefit deafblind people, but also enrich social work itself.
Dr Peter Simcock is Associate Professor of Social Work and Centre Lead for the Deafblind UK Centre for Education and Research at Birmingham City University. He has a long-standing research and practice interest in deafblindness, with a particular focus on social work and deafblindness, the experiences of those ageing with deafblindness, the relationship between law and social work practice in the field, and qualitative research involving deafblind people.
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