PSY E245 Lecture Notes - Lecture 19: Developmental Disability, Intellectual Disability, Purgatory
Document Summary
Ancient greeks left handicapped infants on top of mountains to die, or threw them off cliffs. 1870-1890 they were viewed as objects of pity, and holy innocents. They were sacrificed because they couldn"t be productive members of society. Early 1900s people with disabilities were thought of as a moral threat to society and were subjected to the eugenics movement. 1900"s medical model viewed the disabled as individuals who needed medical help and justified institutionalization. 1950-1960s a photographic essay called christmas in purgatory led to public outcry and raised awareness of conditions people with developmental disabilities were living in. 1968 new initiatives were stimulated by john f kennedy. Developmental model to guide educational programming was developed. Philosophy focused on normalization, deinstitutionalization and education. No accurate estimates due to problems with definitions, data and statistics. Intellectual functioning is traditionally measured on basis of iq scores. Can be arbitrary and vary between cultures. Individual may not understand what is being asked.
