The Social Construction of Intellectual Disability

Abstract

Intellectual disability is usually thought of as a form of internal, individual affliction, little different from diabetes, paralysis or chronic illness. This study, the first book-length application of discursive psychology to intellectual disability, shows that what we usually understand as being an individual problem is actually an interactional, or social, product. Through a range of case studies, which draw upon ethnomethodological and conversation analytic scholarship, the book shows how persons categorized as 'intellectually disabled' are produced, as such, in and through their moment-by-moment interaction with care staff and other professionals. Mark Rapley extends and reformulates current work in disability studies and offers a reconceptualisation of intellectual disability as both a professionally ascribed diagnostic category and an accomplished - and contested - social identity. Importantly, the book is grounded in data drawn from naturally-occurring, rather than professionally orchestrated, social interaction.

Institucionalizacija osoba s intelektualnim teškoćama: što nas je naučila povijest?

“…Klasifi kacija se u 14. stoljeću modifi cira razlikovanjem idiota (»prirodna budala«, osoba nesposobna od rođenja) i lude osobe (poremećenost nastupila nakon rođenja) (Ferguson, 2009.). Termin idiot također se koristio od 14. stoljeća za opis izostanka obrazovanja kod osobe, dok se termin imbecil koristio za nesposobnu osobu (Rapley, 2004.). Navedene podjele temeljile su se na promatranju i testiranju osoba, što se može smatrati počecima postupaka vještačenja.…”

“…i Binet (1905. ), pioniri znanstvenog pristupa osobama s intelektualnim teškoćama, smatraju takvim osobama one koji ne mogu ispuniti socijalna očekivanja vezana uz zapošljavanje, normativna očekivanja o društvenoj odgovornosti i postići samodostatnost (Rapley, 2004.). Navedene kriterije većina osoba s intelektualnim teškoćama ne može postići ni danas.…”

Towards a Really Social Psychology: Liberation Psychology Beyond Latin America

“…These activist theorists have articulated this account by drawing on explicit political analyses including Marxism. This broad approach has become known in the UK (Shakespeare and Nelson, 1997) and elsewhere, (Aramayo, 2005;Rapley, 2004) as the social model of disability. Given the critique of individualising psychologies that tend to 'victim blame' there is an obvious connection between LP and the cause of disabled people's emancipation (Burton et al, 2001).…”

Children’s claims to knowledge regarding their mental health experiences and practitioners’ negotiation of the problem

“…Second, the specific children in these interactions are present in this context because there has been some level of recognized historical concern about their behavior, emotional wellbeing, communication and/or development. A range of studies in different contexts have consistently demonstrated a number of ways in which individuals categorized as such may demonstrably not be afforded comparable interactional rights as other speakers on a moment-by-moment basis [14] [15].…”