Slipping the Surly Bonds of the Medical/Rehabilitation Model In Expert Witness Testimony
Main Article Content
Keywords
expert witness, sexual assault, medical model
Abstract
This essay asserts that the new academic discipline of disability studies challenges the medical/rehabilitation models of disability and that this challenge has an impact on expert witness testimony. This assertion is based on the author’s experience in a civil sexual assault trial involving a male resident of a group home facility assaulted by another male resident of the group home. The author was surprised to find that her status as a visiting professor in the new academic discipline of disability studies trumped the testimony of the clinical expert witnesses, including a licensed psychologist, a behavioral specialist, and a case manager.
References
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Westcott, H. (1991). The abuse of disabled children: A review of the literature. Child Care, Health and Development, 17, 243-258.
Linton, S. (1998). Claiming disability: Knowledge and identity. New York: New York University Press.
Murphy, P.A. (1996). A career and life planning guide for women survivors: Making the connections workbook. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Murphy, P.A. (1993). Making the connections: Women, work and abuse. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Murphy, P.A. & Williams, J. M. (1998). Assessment of rehabilitative and quality of life issues in litigation. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems (1999, October 7). http://www.protectionandadvocacy.com.
Shapiro, J.P. (1994). No pity: People with disabilities forging a new civil rights movement. New York: Three Rivers Press.
Sobsey, D. (1994). Violence and abuse in the lives of people with disabilities: The end of silent acceptance? Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
Sobsey, D. & Doe, T. (1991). Patterns of sexual abuse and assault. Journal of Sexuality and Disability, 9(3), 243-259.
Steinbeck, J. (1986). Of mice and men. New York: Viking Press.
Sullivan, P. M., Brookhouser, P.E., Scalan, J.M., Knutson, J.F. & Schulte, L.E. (1991). Patterns of physical and sexual abuse of communicatively handicapped children.
Annals of Otology, Rhinology, and Larngology, 100(3), 188-194.
Turk, V. & Brown, H. (1992, August 5-7). Sexual abuse of adults with learning disabilities. Paper presented at the Conference of the International Association for Scientific Study of Mental Deficiency, Brisbane, Australia.
Westcott, H. (1991). The abuse of disabled children: A review of the literature. Child Care, Health and Development, 17, 243-258.
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Published
Dec 29, 2014
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Research Articles and Essays
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Author Biography
Patricia A. Murphy, University of Toledo
Patricia A. Murphy is the Director and Visiting Professor of the Disability Studies Program at the University of Toledo. She is currently working on editing an anthology of the History of Disability in Northwest Ohio.