Adults with Learning Disabilities

Running Head : Adults with Learning Disabilities

Adults with Learning Disabilities

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Adults with Learning Disabilities

A civilization can be measured by the meaning which it gives to the full cycle of life . Psychosocial strength . depends on a process which regulates individual life cycles , the sequence of generations , and the structure of society simultaneously : for all three have evolved together

- Erik H . Erikson

ABSTRACT

The discourse of `learning disabilities ' is now being used to challenge a

wide range of acts and practices , including violence and intimidation non-consenting sexual acts , the bullying of less resilient people by more able service users , unacceptably deprived physical or social environments and financial exploitation or fraud . Some argue that it should include all abuses of human rights . Clearly , these issues are not new as the following essay illustrates , and historically some of these practices have been hidden within service cultures while others have been quite open but variously rationalized as `behavior modification `relationships , `control and restraint , or `not giving in to attention seeking . Abuse was regarded as a central , and inevitable , feature of institutionalized provision in influential models such as that of Goffman (1961 ) and Wolfensberger (1975 and 1980 ) within an analysis whose focus was on organizations and ideology . The new discourse is much more personalized and within it the focus is on the experience of the victim

This has some advantages for individuals and highlights some dilemmas for service organizations...