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What does it mean to live a good life? Why has it proved so difficult for people with intellectual disabilities to live one? What happens when we make a good life the centre of our consideration of people with intellectual disabilities? These questions are explored through a re-examination of ideas from philosophy and social theory, and through personal life stories. This important and timely book provides an analysis and critique of current policies and underpinning ideologies in relation to people with intellectual disabilities and explores ways in which a good life may be made more attainable.
49 THREE a good life and people with intellectual disabilities Philosophical and social-theoretical accounts of what makes a good life seem far from the lived experience of people with intellectual disabilities. However, in this chapter we reflect on the implications of such theories and ideas for how a good life is framed and understood in the context of the lives of people with intellectual disabilities. In undertaking this task we explore the second of the questions that provide the framework for this book: what are the implications for people with
113 SEVEN People with intellectual disabilities in the European semi- periphery: the case of Hungary Ágnes Turnpenny Introduction This chapter gives an overview of the changing situation of people with intellectual disabilities throughout the twentieth century in Hungary. The analysis follows four broad historical periods: before the end of the Second World War; state socialism between 1945 and 1989; the period of post-socialist transformation from 1990; and the current period following Hungary’s European Union membership in 2004. Although these periods
35 TWO Tracing the historical and ideological roots of services for people with intellectual disabilities in Austria Gertraud Kremsner, Oliver Koenig and Tobias Buchner Setting the scene: discovering the past – dismantling the present This chapter focuses on how historical and contemporary influences have affected the development of policy and practice of services for people with intellectual disabilities in Austria. We start with an exploration of the production and development of eugenic discourses. We show how these discourses were explicitly adopted by
181 ELEVEN Active involvement and co-production with people with intellectual disabilities from minority ethnic communities Raghu Raghavan Introduction There is considerable evidence that inequality and exclusion are characteristics of the experiences of black and minority ethnic (BME) communities in the UK. The UK population is becoming more diverse and complex in terms of ethnicity, culture and religion. This chapter will focus on people with intellectual disabilities (ID) from BME communities as they face inequalities, discrimination and marginalisation
179 FOURTEEN People with intellectual disabilities (visually) reimagine care Ann Fudge Schormans Introduction Care is typically understood as both a value and a practice. The practice of care – who is cared for, how and by whom – typically reflects societal values and the (de)valuation of particular groups of people. As a practice, care ‘invokes different experiences, different meanings, different contexts and multiple relations of power, of which a political argument around care needs to take account’ (Williams, 2001, p 468). Highlighting the perspective
129 EIGHT People with intellectual disabilities in Iceland in the twentieth century: sterilisation, social role valorisation and ‘normal life’ Guðrún Stefánsdóttir Introduction: the Icelandic context This chapter considers the history of people with intellectual disabilities in Iceland, paying particular attention to the last quarter of the twentieth century when ideas about a normal life began to influence Icelandic disability policy and legislation which has emphasised social equality and participation for over 30 years. This history is largely a story
53 THREE Time of paradoxes: what the twentieth century was like for people with intellectual disabilities living in Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic Monika Mužáková and Iva Strnadová Introduction The twentieth century was marked by a number of political and policy shifts that impacted the lives of people with intellectual disabilities and their families. Some were worldwide (eg two World Wars), while others (eg the onset and fall of totalitarianism) were specific to the Czech Republic, but all influenced perceptions of and attitudes towards people with
195 TWELVE From social menace to unfulfilled promise: the evolution of policy and practice towards people with intellectual disabilities in the United States Philip M. Ferguson Centuries (as well as decades and years) are malleable demarcations of time. Held to a literal calendar, the 100-year periods are rigid divisions, changing over on the ‘double zero’ years. Yet most people experience centuries as eras organised around key events, dramatic discoveries or major social and economic shifts. Also implied with this constructivist approach to the
15 Part one Reflecting on a good life In this part of the book we address the following three questions outlined in the Introduction: • What meanings have been given to a good life in Western societies? • What are the implications of ideas about what constitutes a good life for the lives of people with intellectual disabilities? • Can and should all people with intellectual disabilities lead the same kind of good life?
