PubMed · 3637852
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K Bloomfield. One step at a time.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3637852/
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This paper introduces the following theme section on Geographies of Intellectual Disability. It outlines the historiography of geographical work on intellectual disability, noting in particular the contributions of Wolpert (Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 5 (1980) 391) and Hall and Kearns (Health and Place 7 (2001) 237), before tracing claims made about both the 'institutional' and 'deinstitutional' eras in the changing geographies confronting and experienced by intellectually disabled people. This account, highlighting the tendency for such people to remain 'outside the participatory mainstream' in almost all circumstances, offers along the way an introduction to the four contributions that follow.
A "critical geography of intellectual disabilities" is outlined. Drawing on personal experience and borrowing poetic inspiration, claims about the end of the institutional era for intellectual disabled people are disputed, and the continuing eugenic legacy, complete with its multiple stigmatizing effects, is emphasized. The extent of the social exclusion experienced by many people with intellectual disabilities in the wider community, linked to various poor quality of life indicators, is also given attention. Finally, speculations are raised about how to move beyond the "asylum" and the "ghetto", empowering intellectually disabled people in the process.
People with learning disabilities (PWLD) are one of the most marginalised groups in Western society. Social policies attempting to redress this situation focus on their 'reinclusion' into mainstream socio-spaces through engagement in 'normal' activities, primarily paid employment and independent living. Drawing on group interviews in Scotland, the paper develops a nuanced account of the lives of PWLD, exploring their experiences of exclusion and seeming 'inclusion', and also the alternative spaces and networks of inclusion developed by many PWLD. The paper argues that the situations and experiences of exclusion/inclusion are complex and 'entangled', shaped by the socio-spatial contexts within which PWLD live. The paper 'reimagines' social inclusion as a transformation of mainstream social spaces to incorporate PWLD, achieved through self-advocacy.