Policy Press
Eleven Intellectual disability policy and practice in twentieth-century United Kingdom
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Abstract
In the first half of the twentieth century UK policy, dominated by the passing of the Mental Deficiency Act in 1913, was not driven solely by eugenic discourse but by a commonly held assumption across the ideological spectrum that the ‘mentally deficient’ population needed ‘fixing’ in some way. Lurking beneath this desire for completeness and the tidying up of the social sphere were deep anxieties about urban modernity and human capacity to meet its challenges. In the second half of the century we see the voice of the person with intellectual disability finally emerge as self-advocacy, as the institutions met their end and care in the community became policy. A so-called ‘golden period’ in the 1990s, characterized by thoughtful policy and a commitment to inclusion, raised hopes of genuine citizenship and improved support. The chapter ends however with a cautionary warning from the 21st century, where gains seem to be receding and the institution rising from its grave.
Abstract
In the first half of the twentieth century UK policy, dominated by the passing of the Mental Deficiency Act in 1913, was not driven solely by eugenic discourse but by a commonly held assumption across the ideological spectrum that the ‘mentally deficient’ population needed ‘fixing’ in some way. Lurking beneath this desire for completeness and the tidying up of the social sphere were deep anxieties about urban modernity and human capacity to meet its challenges. In the second half of the century we see the voice of the person with intellectual disability finally emerge as self-advocacy, as the institutions met their end and care in the community became policy. A so-called ‘golden period’ in the 1990s, characterized by thoughtful policy and a commitment to inclusion, raised hopes of genuine citizenship and improved support. The chapter ends however with a cautionary warning from the 21st century, where gains seem to be receding and the institution rising from its grave.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- Notes on editors and contributors v
- Introduction 1
- Paradoxical lives: intellectual disability policy and practice in twentieth-century Australia 21
- Tracing the historical and ideological roots of services for people with intellectual disabilities in Austria 35
- Time of paradoxes: what the twentieth century was like for people with intellectual disabilities living in Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic 53
- Intellectual disability in twentieth-century Ghana 67
- A Greek Neverland: the history of the Leros asylums’ inmates with intellectual disability (1958–95) 79
- Intellectual disability in Hong Kong: then and now 99
- People with intellectual disabilities in the European semi-periphery: the case of Hungary 113
- People with intellectual disabilities in Iceland in the twentieth century: sterilisation, social role valorisation and ‘normal life’ 129
- Institutionalisation in twentieth-century New Zealand 143
- ‘My life in the institution’ and ‘My life in the community’: policies and practice in Taiwan 165
- Intellectual disability policy and practice in twentieth-century United Kingdom 177
- From social menace to unfulfilled promise: the evolution of policy and practice towards people with intellectual disabilities in the United States 195
- Index 207
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- Notes on editors and contributors v
- Introduction 1
- Paradoxical lives: intellectual disability policy and practice in twentieth-century Australia 21
- Tracing the historical and ideological roots of services for people with intellectual disabilities in Austria 35
- Time of paradoxes: what the twentieth century was like for people with intellectual disabilities living in Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic 53
- Intellectual disability in twentieth-century Ghana 67
- A Greek Neverland: the history of the Leros asylums’ inmates with intellectual disability (1958–95) 79
- Intellectual disability in Hong Kong: then and now 99
- People with intellectual disabilities in the European semi-periphery: the case of Hungary 113
- People with intellectual disabilities in Iceland in the twentieth century: sterilisation, social role valorisation and ‘normal life’ 129
- Institutionalisation in twentieth-century New Zealand 143
- ‘My life in the institution’ and ‘My life in the community’: policies and practice in Taiwan 165
- Intellectual disability policy and practice in twentieth-century United Kingdom 177
- From social menace to unfulfilled promise: the evolution of policy and practice towards people with intellectual disabilities in the United States 195
- Index 207
