LEXINGTON, Ky. — Alison Wetmur, DSW, LCSW, visiting lecturer at the University of Kentucky College of Social Work, has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Disability Manuscript Award from the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).
The national award recognizes outstanding scholarship that advances understanding and inclusion of disability within social work education, research and practice.
The winning manuscript, “The Experiences of Growing Up Deaf in a Hearing-Abled Family: A Phenomenological Study,” was published in the Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare. The study interviewed 14 d/Deaf adults born into hearing-abled families, exploring the lived realities of growing up with a different ability status than other family members. Respondents spoke about childhood feelings of shame and isolation, frustrations with language access, and traumatic experiences that are commonplace in the Deaf community but largely unrecognized in the hearing-abled world. Informed by critical disability theory and Disability Justice principles, the study provides standpoint epistemology of the experience of growing up disabled in a hearing-abled family, research grounded in Wetmur’s own lived experience as a d/Deaf person raised in a hearing-abled home.
Wetmur’s work centers on Disability Justice, trauma, and expanding access to culturally responsive social work services for d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing communities. Her scholarship and professional leadership have focused on strengthening disability-informed education, critiquing social work’s foundational frameworks through a Disability Justice lens, and improving clinical practice through ASL/English bilingual approaches. A particular focus of her work is language deprivation and its consequences for the social, emotional, and developmental well-being of d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing children.
“As a DeafDisabled scholar, my lived experience is not separate from my scholarship, it is the scholarship,” Wetmur said. “Disability Justice is not a niche concern. It is a fundamental question about what social work is for, and it asks us to stop treating access as an afterthought and start treating it as a measure of whether our systems are working at all. I am honored by this recognition, and I hope it opens more space for disabled scholars to bring their full expertise to the profession without having to soften the critique.”
Born deaf to hearing parents and raised orally, Wetmur learned American Sign Language at age 23 after earning her bachelor’s degree in English literature from Drew University. After working in residential social services settings, she earned her Master of Social Work from Rutgers University before beginning clinical work at American School for the Deaf in West Hartford, Connecticut — the oldest school for the Deaf in the United States.
At the American School for the Deaf, Wetmur worked extensively with d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing middle and high school students experiencing significant behavioral, developmental and emotional challenges. She later returned to Rutgers University to earn her Doctorate of Social Work in 2022.
In addition to her teaching and scholarship at UK, Wetmur was appointed Inaugural Chair of the National Association of Social Workers National Committee on Disabilities in February 2026. She also serves on the Board of the Social Work Grand Challenges and as Team Lead for the Disability Justice cross-cutting group of the Social Work Grand Challenges Futures Initiative, where she contributes expertise related to disability-focused social work research and practice innovation. Wetmur is also co-founder of the Social Work Disability Justice League, a national professional organization advancing Disability Justice principles within the social work field. Wetmur’s scholarship has also extended internationally. In July 2025, Wetmur and collaborator Kristel Scoresby presented posters at the International Congress on the Education of the Deaf in Rome, Italy.
The Council on Social Work Education Disability Manuscript Award recognizes authors whose work significantly contributes to disability scholarship and advances the profession’s understanding of disability-related issues.