This article proposes that the experience of people categorized as having intellectual disabilities is inadequately represented by disability theory premised on the socially constructed duality between disability and impairment. It argues that representation within the wide world of disability will only be achieved by thinking of disability on a…

Research has shown that people often do not claim labels associated with mental retardation or learning difficulties. We discussed the interpretation that this rejection is an example of a denial process, the purpose of which is to protect self-esteem. Alternative explanations for this lack of identification were offered, based on an understanding…

Traditional diagnostic labels help professionals keep track of the types of problems children experience and help researchers study the causes of and treatments for those problems. But labels also pose significant limitations. First, by grouping different individuals together under a large category of what they appear to have in common, there is a…

Definitions of intelligence have traditionally been rooted in literacy competence. In this article, the authors examine two historical examples where societal prejudices and institutional forces worked to limit and regulate access to literacy. The first example illustrates how racism and denial of competence were so profoundly linked and…

The paper presents the thesis that mild mental subnormality developed as a "scientific," hence natural, explanation for the socially unacceptable behavior of economically marginal persons. The history of such labels as "moron,""imbecile," and "moral imbecile" is traced to the late 19th century emphasis on…

In a study on the effects of labeling, 78 fourth-grade Ss from a rural school containing an integrated special-education program viewed one of two videotapes that depicted a child demonstrating various kinds of academic and social behavior. (Author/PHR)

Sixteen-year-old EMR children were administered the WAIS and WISC-R in counterbalanced order to determine the comparability of the two assessment instruments. The WAIS was found to yield significantly higher scores. Results suggest differences between the two instruments among children of subnormal intelligence. (Author)

Language standards of 26 disability organizations in 4 English-speaking countries (United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and United States) were surveyed for similarities and differences. Usage of terminology such as "mental handicap,""learning disability,""mental retardation,""developmental disability," and…

The study had mentally retarded and nonretarded perceiver children (n=40; 9- to 14-years old) converse with a child described as a special or regular education student. Results suggested that stereotypes about children with and without learning problems may become self-fulfilling prophecies by altering how children treat each other and how they…

This essay argues that ideas circulated by Blatt and Dybwad, two scholars who exposed the plight of people labeled "retarded," can be illustrated in certain inclusive education practices and reinforced and refined in various critical narratives about mental retardation, particularly in autobiographical accounts of people with…

Students' willingness to befriend a mentally retarded student was investigated using written vignettes about students said to be enrolling in the subjects' school. The study population included 60 fourth grade students from 5 social studies classes in a small southern community. Students were randomly assigned to experimental or control…

This study explored the effects of type of behavioral treatment and living environment on college students' (N=216) person-perceptions and causal attributions of deviant behaviors of a 17-year-old with mental retardation or normal intelligence. The results suggested that positive behavioral approaches and normalized community settings, at least as…

The author expresses concern about potentially damaging effects to mentally retarded persons from deinstitutionalization and normalization practices. Cited are the public's lack of awareness and the professionals' misplaced emphasis on researching the public attitude rather than improving the retardates' training. It is explained that there is a…