Rut Nordlund-Spiby
Official title: Specialist
Tel. +358 29 524 7082
E-mail: [email protected]
Expertise
- Social Work and Social Policy
- Rights and services of persons with disabilities
- Social inclusion, participation and right of self-determination
- Children, adolescents and family
- Early Childhood Education and Pedagogy
- Neurospectrum and neurodiversity
Primary duties
- Specialist and web editor for the Swedish Handbook on Disability Services, THL
Education
- Licensed Social Worker, Valvira National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health
- 2012, M.Soc.Sc. Master's degree in Social Work, University of Helsinki
- 2007, Vocational Teacher, Pedagogy, Åbo Akademi University
- 1990, Social Worker, Bachelor's degree in Social Sciences, The Swedish School of Social Science, University of Helsinki
- 1982, Preschool teacher, Early Childhood Education and Teaching, Pietarsaari
Professional background
- 2016–, Specialist and web editor for the Swedish Handbook on Disability Services, The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL)
- 2014–2016, Degree Programme Director, Senior Lecturer, Social Services, Arcada University of Applied Sciences, Helsinki
- 2007–2014, Lecturer, Social Services, Department of Health and Welfare, Arcada University of Applied Sciences, Helsinki
- 2003–2007, Teacher, Social Services, Practicum upper secondary vocational institution, Helsinki
- 2000–2003, Early childhood education and day care planning officer for children with disabilities, City of Espoo
- 1993–2000, Social Worker, the outpatient clinic for adolescents, Folkhälsan, Helsinki
- 1989–1993, Social Worker, rehabilitation clinic for children with disabilities, Folkhälsan, Helsinki
Language skills
- Swedish (native)
- English (excellent)
- Finnish (good)
- Norwegian (good)
- Danish (fair)
- German (fair)
Ongoing project
- 2023-2027 NordForsk: Mental health and life satisfaction among youth with disabilities and experiences of services in the post-pandemic period (D-youth)
D-youth, funded by Nordforsk, is a Nordic collaboration project between researchers from Finland, Sweden, Iceland, and Norway. It provides valuable and comprehensive information about a vulnerable group in the Nordic countries - youth with disabilities.
Previous projects
- 2016–2020, the Client Participation project VamO, The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL)
The long-term objectives in the project were to ensure that processes are good, services for the disabled adequate and that equality had been reached nationwide. The aim was to visualize the nature of the involvement of clients and the expertise needed in social work in disability services. Practices, methods and guidelines were developed for national use to ensure the clients’ participation. - 2013–2016, project coordinator, Quality of Life Project, Arcada University of Applied Sciences, Helsinki.
A Nordic interdisciplinary collaboration with universities in Norway and Denmark. Objective: to investigate and make visible how to create opportunities for quality of life in everyday life for people with disabilities of different ages (children, young people, adults and elderly). - 2015–2016, supervising teacher, PAD-project (Positive Attitude Development), Arcada University of Applied Sciences, Helsinki.
Our aim was to promote youth employability and access to labour market by decreasing social exclusion and stigma against mental unhealth. This project was a joint project between Arcada and Tallinn University.
Publications and research
Book contributions
- Sanna Ahola, Rut Nordlund-Spiby & Saila Lind (2021) Children and young people with disabilities. Within: Korpilahti Ulla et.al. (eds.) Non-Violent Childhoods: Action Plan for the Prevention of Violence against Children 2020–2025. Helsinki: Publications of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health 2020:34, 452-458
- Brantberg Bettina, Nordlund-Spiby Rut, Sigfrids Ingman, Silius-Ahonen Ellinor (2015) Dialogen som verktyg i basgruppen: handledarens roll som stöd för dialogen. Within: Silius-Ahonen Ellinor (ed.) Bildningsaspekter i högre utbildning – med fokus på professionsutbildning. Helsinki: Arcada, 120–132
Project reports
- Nordlund-Spiby, Rut; Tuure, Susanne; Tallberg, Annette (2019) Participation, rights and inclusion for children with disabilities. (in Swedish) Helsinki, THL, Stöd för beslut: 1/2019
- See, listen and include! Participation for children and young people with disabilities in the Nordic region (2021) Stockholm: Nordic Welfare Centre
- No child or young person should be left behind. A child rights and youth perspective in Nordic disability co-operation (2020) Stockholm: Nordic Welfare Centre
- Sandberg, Erja et.al. (2018) Evaluation of functioning of young people aged 16–29 years neither in employment nor in education and training (NEET). (in Finnish). Helsinki: the Finnish social security institution Kela 3:2018
- Hintsanen, Veijo et.al. (2016). Smooth transitions – Evaluation of the functioning of study paths leading from vocational education and training to universities of applied sciences and cooperation between educational levels (in Finnish with abstract in English). Helsinki: The Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC) 2:2016.
Working group reports
Conference presentations, Oral presentations
- Nordlund-Spiby Rut & Hömppi Päivi. (2024). Framtidsutsikter för det sociala arbetet och servicen för personer med funktionsnedsättning i välfärdsområdena (in Swedish). Oral presentation: National Social Work Research Conference in Tampere University 15.–16.2.2024.
- Nordlund-Spiby Rut & Karlsson Linn (2023) (in Swedish). Ska det heta servicestig, servicekedja eller serviceväg? Så arbetar ett expertteam kring termer på svenska i Finland. Konferensen Nordterm 2023 in Stockholm 14.-15.6.2023.
- Ahola Sanna, Kangas-Aramo Marika, Nordlund-Spiby Rut, Nurmi-Koikkalainen Päivi, Nygård Martina, Sainio Päivi (2019). Online Handbook on Disability Services: Strengthening Participation in Social Work Processes. Copenhagen, Denmark: NNDR Nordic Network on Disability Research, May 8.-10, 2019. Presenter: Nordlund-Spiby, Rut
Conference presentations, Poster presentations
- Hömppi Päivi & Nordlund-Spiby Rut (2023) Finnish Disability Services in Amendment. Posterpresentation NNDR 16th Research Conference, Nordic Network on Disability Research 10-12.5.2023 in Reykjavik, Iceland.
- Nordlund-Spiby, Rut et.al. (2017). Students of Today Are Professionals of Tomorrow. Poster presentation. Glasgow, Scotland: EFRR 14th Congress of the European Forum for Research in Rehabilitation, May 24, 2017. Presenters: Nordlund-Spiby Rut & Koivu Saija
- Nordlund-Spiby, Rut et.al. (2015). Quality of life with focus on participation and social inclusion for persons with disabilities. Poster presentation. Helsinki, Finland: EFRR 13 th Congress of European Forum for Research in Rehabilitation, May 6, 2015. Presenters: Nordlund-Spiby Rut & Jeglinsky Ira
Blog texts (in Swedish and Finnish)
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Rut Nordlund-Spiby, Mona Eid & Anna Kanninen (2024) Språk är makt – kränkande språkbruk ska inte normaliseras. THL-blogg 24.5.2024
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Päivi Nurmi-Koikkalainen, Rut Nordlund-Spiby ja Iiro Toikka (2024). Nordiskt samarbete stärker också funktionshinderområdet. THL-blogg 2.4.2024
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Marika Kangas-Aramo, Nordlund-Spiby & Maija Voutilainen (2023). Institutionsboende för barn med funktionsnedsättning borde kunna upphöra redan nu. THL-blogg 1.11.2023
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Hömppi, Päivi & Nordlund-Spiby, Rut (2023). Personalen inom det sociala arbetet för personer med funktionsnedsättning behöver förutom individuellt klientarbete även tid för samhälleligt förändringsarbete. THL-blogg 5.7.2023.
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Nurmi-Koikkalainen, Päivi, Hömppi, Päivi, Voutilainen, Maija & Nordlund-Spiby, Rut (2023). Ett respektfullt bemötande är det första steget mot delaktighet i servicen för personer med funktionsnedsättning. THL-blogg 20.4.2023.
- Nordlund-Spiby Rut & Pulkkinen Pia (2021) Beaktandet av modersmål och kultur visar på respekt för mångfalden hos personer bland urfolken. THL-Blogg 1.10.2021.
- Nordlund-Spiby Rut & Ahola Minna (2021) Nordiskt samarbete – så att alla barn och unga med funktionsnedsättning kunde ha huvudrollen i sina egna liv. THL-blogg 30.3.2021.
- Nordlund-Spiby Rut & Ahola Sanna (2021) Hur ska vi skydda barn och unga med funktionsnedsättning mot våld? THL-blogg 18.2.2021.
- Rut Nordlund-Spiby (2018) Om att använda rätt begrepp – funktionshinder, funktionsnedsättning eller funktionsvariation? THL-blogg 18.1.2018.
More information online
- LinkedIn-profil
- X: @nordlundsrut
- Handbook on Disability Services, THL
This is an English summary of the Handbook. The full version of the Handbook on Disability Services is available in the two official languages in Finland: