Understanding Disability

MICHAEL OLIVER was the first Professor of Disability Studies in the United Kingdom and is currently Emeritus Professor at the University of Greenwich, UK. He is also the author of the pathbreaking The Politics of Disablement and Social Work with Disabled People 3rd Edition (co-authored with Bob Sapey).

'...a fantastic and readable introduction to disability politics for activists, practitioners and students across social work and social policy, covering ground as diverse as theoretical models of disability, legal challenges and (missed) opportunities, special education provisions and the complex relationship between reserach and policy...Oliver issues an important rallying call to action and to the defence of the social model of disability, where the personal is inherently political.' - Professional Social Work '..Oliver's style is a personal one, skilfully mixing his own experience of disability with teaching, research and contemporary song lyrics...In less than 200 pages, Oliver encapsulates the last 30 years of disability politics...This book is core reading for students of social work, nursing, health and applied social science taking modules in disability studies.' - Sue Watling, Learning and Teaching Coordinator, University of Lincoln, Practical: Social Work in Action

• IntroductionPART I: EXPERIENCING AND CHALLENGING A CHANGING WORLDFrom Personal Struggle to Political Understanding and Back AgainMobility Impairment in a Social ContextThe Social Model: History, Critique and ResponseUnmet Promises of Disability Law and PolicySpecial Education into the Twenty First CenturyPART II: THEORISING AND CHANGING A DISABLING WORLDDisability and Normalisation: A CritiqueThe Relevance of Emancipatory Research for Policy DevelopmentDisabling or Enabling Welfare: What Next for Disabled PeopleDisability Politics and the Disability Movement in BritainDiasablement into the Twenty First CenturyPersonalising the Political and Politicising the Personal