My personal experience of social workers has been incredibly destructive and damaging for me.
Cruel, incompetent, lying, threatening, ignorant of basic law, libellous, self justifying, defensive, rely on offensive stereotypes, discriminatory, bullying... A few words that dont even begin to cover their 'help' for me.
I have noticed that whenever someone complains they are quickly disregarded as a unreliable witness in some way. Either the good old 'no smoke without fire' adage, or basic lies being told about people to stop anyone listening. Lucky for me my dealings have not been about a child as that's the most used excuse for refusing to hear, accept and implement changes from a bad experience/ complaint.
I've been exposed to the joys of adult social care. Now, even though I don't fit into any of the stereotypes of a 'service user' that hasn't stopped them bringing out all the usual inconpetebce and bullying they usially get away with. Followed by the typical discrediting strategies they usually use.
Among other things, they tried to say I was mentally incompetent, and had severe behavioural problems which meant I was a danger to myself and others! I actually had to provide copies to my gp and consultant as they thought it couldn't be possible these things could be levelled at me, rhought i must have been given someone elses notes by accident. Umfortuneatly not true, it was all nicely weaved in with identifiable details of me. Oh they also said i was terminally ill but wouldnt admit it as i was mental! Err, well my consultant was surprised to learn that i was, and also pointed out the neatness of that statement as i couldnt argue back, as that proved their point!
I wonder how with these awful problems I manage to get by with my first and my high level professional career etc.
When asked for evidence to prove their libellous claims, ss said it was because I am physically disabled that I must also have these (conpletely unrelated) problems.
Yes, I mean it's well known that physical disability causes mental incompetence and behaviour such as biting! Glad we've moved on from Victorian times, or even nazi sentiment.
Biting ffs, irony is that my jaw is fucked and I can't even bite a piece of broccoli let alone try and take a chunk out of a human!
Before anyone scoffs and asks why they'd bother making up anything like this, I have one word to say... Money. I'd be on someone else's budget if they could declare me mentally incompetent. When I took them to task on it, one of them looked so upset as the penny dropped what she had done to me. She'd just been following orders from above and hadn't thought what the implications might be for me personally.
Just one of a multitude of little incompetencies theyve cone up with... It didnt work, but it has had a substantial effect on my physical and emotional well being, having to battle them every step of the way (after the sweet talking strategy of two years led nowhere but abuse and threats from them).
They appear to be baffled as it's completely embedded in their minds that physically disabled people are stupid pathetic scum who must sit quietly in a corner and kiss the hands that throw them a crust of bread. They cannot understand why one of these revolting cripples can dare to ask for their basic human rights, courtesy, basic professionalism, let alone actual competence and skill within their job role.
I'm sure there are good social workers somewhere around, but I have not met one (though one good OH a while back).
I have been disturbed though not surprised to find that my initial complaints were dealt with (eventually, when they actually dealt with them instead of more threats etc), by hanging out to sey the lowest levels of staff. It doesn't take an idiot to see that they were working in an envrironment that rewarded and expected them to behave in this way. having dealt with the head of adult ss, it clear where the problems are coming from.
In my humble opinion the adult ss team in my area is not fit to practise. Although I'd like to think its just one bad team, it doesn't seem probable in the grander scheme of things.
I have to carry on fighting, not just for me but for those people who cannot fight for themselves. As the people that know me in rl say 'if they can do this to you, what the hell are they doing to people less able to help themselves'.
My health however is suffering from trying to deal with this awful situation, and I think ss strategy is to know that eventually I'll be too ill to carry on any longer. Trouble is, they are right.