A History of Mental Retardation PDF Download

Author: R. C. Scheerenberger
Publisher: Brookes Publishing Company
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Author: Steven Noll
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 0814782485
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 524

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Book Description
The expressions "idiot, you idiot, you're an idiot, don't be an idiot," and the like are generally interpreted as momentary insults. But, they are also expressions that represent an old, if unstable, history. Beginning with an examination of the early nineteenth century labeling of mental retardation as "idiocy," to what we call developmental, intellectual, or learning disabilities, Mental Retardation in America chronicles the history of mental retardation, its treatment and labeling, and its representations and ramifications within the changing economic, social, and political context of America. Mental Retardation in America includes essays with a wide range of authors who approach the problems of retardation from many differing points of view. This work is divided into five sections, each following in chronological order the major changes in the treatment of people classified as retarded. Exploring historical issues, as well as current public policy concerns, Mental Retardation in America covers topics ranging from representations of the mentally disabled as social burdens and social menaces; Freudian inspired ideas of adjustment and adaptation; the relationship between community care and institutional treatment; historical events, such as the Buck v. Bell decision, which upheld the opinion on eugenic sterilization; the evolution of the disability rights movement; and the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990.

Author: James Trent
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199396205
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 393

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Pity, disgust, fear, cure, and prevention--all are words that Americans have used to make sense of what today we call intellectual disability. Inventing the Feeble Mind explores the history of this disability from its several identifications over the past 200 years: idiocy, imbecility, feeblemindedness, mental defect, mental deficiency, mental retardation, and most recently intellectual disability. Using institutional records, private correspondence, personal memories, and rare photographs, James Trent argues that the economic vulnerability of intellectually disabled people (and often their families), more than the claims made for their intellectual and social limitations, has shaped meaning, services, and policies in United States history.

Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309083230
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 351

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Current estimates suggest that between one and three percent of people living in the United States will receive a diagnosis of mental retardation. Mental retardation, a condition characterized by deficits in intellectual capabilities and adaptive behavior, can be particularly hard to diagnose in the mild range of the disability. The U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) provides income support and medical benefits to individuals with cognitive limitations who experience significant problems in their ability to perform work and may therefore be in need of governmental support. Addressing the concern that SSA's current procedures are consistent with current scientific and professional practices, this book evaluates the process used by SSA to determine eligibility for these benefits. It examines the adequacy of the SSA definition of mental retardation and its current procedures for assessing intellectual capabilities, discusses adaptive behavior and its assessment, advises on ways to combine intellectual and adaptive assessment to provide a complete profile of an individual's capabilities, and clarifies ways to differentiate mental retardation from other conditions.

Author: Patricia Ainsworth (M.D.)
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
ISBN: 1604730536
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 213

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CONSUMER HEALTH . What measures can parents and advocates take to insure that people who have mental retardation live full, rewarding lives from infancy to old age?. Understanding Mental Retardation explores a diverse group of disorders from their biological roots to the everyday challenges faced by this special population and their families. With parents and those who care for people who have mental retardation in mind, Patricia Ainsworth and Pamela C. Baker write in a style that is at once accessible, informative, and sympathetic to the concerns of those affected. The authors provide practical information that will assist families and other advocates in obtaining needed services. They discuss assessment and treatment, education and employment, social and sexual adjustment, as well as regulatory and legal issues. This book covers the causes of mental retardation, the signs and symptoms of the most common forms of these disorders, and issues of prevention. For the sake of comparison, the book describes basic concepts of normal human development and references the history of Western civilization's responses to those with mental retardation. Understanding Mental Retardation sheds new light on mental illnesses that can complicate the lives of those with mental retardation, and the way symptoms of mental illness may appear confused or masked in a patient with mental retardation. Along with information on treatments and diagnoses, the book offers contact information for governmental resources, as well as a brief summary of the legal issues pertaining to mental retardation in America. Patricia Ainsworth is an assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and has a private practice in Ridgeland, Mississippi. She is the author of Understanding Depression (University Press of Mississippi). Pamela C. Baker is director of the South Mississippi Regional Center in Long Beach, Mississippi. She is also an independent consultant in management and disabilities administration and co-editor of Embarking on a New Century: Mental Retardation at the End of the 20th Century .

Author: G. E. Berrios
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521437363
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 588

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An important and unique survey of the historical background to the descriptive categories of psychopathology.

Author: Robert B. Edgerton
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674568860
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 140

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Book Description
Explains the causes of retardation, the prevention of retardation through such means as genetic counseling and prenatal care, and the methods of helping retarded children on the familial, social, and educational levels.

Author: George S. Baroff
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317822463
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 518

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Book Description
Mental Retardation, now in the third edition, was hailed as a classic when it was first published in the 1970's. This edition provides up-to-date material on the major dimensions of mental retardation-its nature, its causes, both biological and psychological, and its management.

Author: Philip L. Safford
Publisher: Teachers College Press
ISBN: 9780807734858
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Book Description
In their chronological portrait, the authors synthesize the many voices of exceptional children, providing a historical picture that includes not only the perspective of the professional, but also, to the extent possible, that of the "client." The book begins by placing the origins of special education in historical context from Aristotle through the Enlightenment and beyond. Subsequent chapters consider individual "conditions" traditionally associated with specialized approaches (e.g., blindness, deafness, and retardation), discuss conditions that have given rise to further differentiation of childhood exceptionality, and offer a synthesis of themes and a prospective for a "new history," now emerging, of children considered exceptional.

Author: Edward Shorter
Publisher: Temple University Press
ISBN: 9781566397827
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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According to Edward Shorter, just forty years ago the institutions housing people with mental retardation (MR) had become a national scandal. The mentally retarded who lived at home were largely isolated and a source of family shame. Although some social stigma still attaches to the people with developmental disabilities (a range of conditions including what until recently was called mental retardation), they now actively participate in our society and are entitled by law to educational, social, and medical services. The immense improvement in their daily lives and life chances came about in no small part because affected families mobilized for change but also because the Kennedy family made mental retardation its single great cause. Long a generous benefactor of MR-related organizations, Joseph P. Kennedy made MR the special charitable interest of the family foundation he set up in the 1950s. Although he gave all of his children official roles, he involved his daughter Eunice in performing its actual work--identifying appropriate recipients of awards and organizing the foundation's activities. With unique access to family and foundation papers, Shorter brings to light the Kennedy family's strong commitment to public service, showing that Rose and Joe taught their children by precept and example that their wealth and status obligated them to perform good works. Their parents expected each of them to apply their considerable energies to making a difference. Eunice Kennedy Shriver took up that charge and focused her organizational and rhetorical talents on putting MR on the federal policy agenda. As a sister of the President of the United States, she had access to the most powerful people in the country and drew their attention to the desperate situation of families affected by mental retardation. Her efforts made an enormous difference, resulting in unprecedented public attention to MR and new approaches to coordinating medical and social services. Along with her husband, R. Sargent Shriver, she made the Special Olympics a international, annual event in order to encourage people with mental retardation to develop their skills and discover the joy of achievement. She emerges from these pages as a remarkable and dedicated advocate for people with developmental disabilities. Shorter's account of mental retardation presents an unfamiliar view of the Kennedy family and adds a significant chapter to the history of disability in this country. Author note: Edward Shorter is a Professor at the University of Toronto where he holds the Hannah Chair in the History of Medicine. He is the author of A History of Psychiatry from the Era of the Asylum to the Age of Prozac, as well as many other books in the fields of history and medicine.