Studies have focused on the experience of diagnosis from the perspectives of parents of children with learning disabilities, but there has been limited methodologically rigorous investigation into the experience for the person themselves. Eight participants were recruited from a range of different backgrounds. Interviews were analysed using…

Labels are firmly rejected by the disability rights movement, yet the complex effects of labeling on lay beliefs are poorly understood. This study examined the effects of labeling on the general public's reactions to people with intellectual disabilities. A sample of 1,233 adult members of the UK general population were randomly presented with…

In this essay, Christopher Kliewer, Douglas Biklen, and Amy J. Petersen unravel the construct of intellectual disability that has dominated both policy and practice in schools and communities. The authors synthesize data from first-person narratives, family accounts, and participatory inquiry to propose a theory of human connectedness in which…

Over the years, the benefits of categorically identifying and labeling students with disabilities have been debated on many grounds, particularly when it comes to labeling African-American children who many argue are over-labeled or disproportionately represented in selected categories such as learning disabilities. In this article, the authors…

Background: There is a dearth of studies about the causes of stigmatization in people with intellectual disability. This study is aimed at gaining an understanding of how feelings of stigmatization are formed and perceived among young people with intellectual disability in Taiwanese cultural and social contexts. Materials and Methods: Fourteen…

Background: This paper examines the experiences of people with intellectual disabilities, in secure care, with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. The paper specifically looks at the perceptions of the participants in relation to their diagnosis and experience of psychosis. Method: Eleven adults with intellectual disabilities in a medium secure unit…

Across the United States young women with disabilities are experiencing economic and educational disadvantages. Although post-school outcomes have shown improvement, young women continue to experience high unemployment rates, low wages, and high rates of poverty. In this study, I explore the experiences of four teenage girls who have been labeled…

Although neurological anomalies seem to be on the rise, this author wonders if the disorder known as autism is truly a genuine epidemic. Marcum explains why a better way of labelling might be more helpful. He contends that autism is not a "disease," but rather a syndrome--a collection of symptoms. To label all brain disorders or developmental…

Proponents of a social model of disability derive their arguments from social constructionism. They combine different disabling conditions under one term: disability. Subsequently, they apply the specific viewpoint of the disability rights social movement of people with physical disabilities to other conditions such as intellectual disabilities,…

This article draws on life-stories told by older people with intellectual disabilities for a research study in the Republic of Ireland. Research participants recalled their experiences of confinement, coercion and exclusion that resulted from their being labelled as having intellectual disabilities. Participants also recalled the positive…

Effects of "mentally retarded" on clinical judgement of 372 psychologists were examined. Results revealed that the label resulted in ratings of less severity of psychopathology, first treatment choices more behavioral in nature, and attributions of greater importance to the client's level of intellectual functioning in the assessment process.…

Two comments respond to an R. P. Hastings article on labeling of individuals with mental retardation. The first comment notes that diagnoses should not be used as labels but as identifications of disorders a person has. The second comment calls for people to come forth with synonyms for "mental retardation" that will not immediately be stigmatic.…

Within each of 4 adult groups, some Ss subscribed to the developmental position and some to the difference position of mental retardation. Strong labeling effects were found among adult proponents of the difference position but not among developmentalists as well as among groups with relatively little professional experience. (CL)

Focuses on three misconceptions about mentally retarded persons commonly held by the general public: mentally handicapped persons have little awareness or understanding of their handicaps; are indifferent to the language used to refer to them or their handicaps; and are largely unaware of and unaffected by stigma-promoting practices of society.…

Predictions derived from attribution theory were used to test the effects of the label "mentally retarded" on the perceptions of 96 female undergraduates. (BB)