This collection of articles discuss various perspectives on how disability is understood, analysed and viewed by academics, professionals, policy makers and governments as well as the general population.

Carlson, L. (2001). Cognitive Ableism and Disability studies: Feminist Reflections on the History of Mental Retardation. Hypatia (16)4. Pp 124-146.

Carlson (2001) provides a detailed feminist critique of the social construction of ‘feeblemindedness’ as the catalyst of the label of ‘intellectual disability’. The article explores how ‘feeblemindedness ‘is constructed along gendered lines. The article explores oppression of women in the constructions ‘feeblemindedness’ historically, including women defined as ‘feebleminded’, the female institutional care staff, mothers, researchers and reformists.  The article explores how characteristics of the female experience, personality and being are constructed as deviant- for example ‘illegitimate child bearing’ as a sign of feeblemindedness, mother’s responsibility for the creation of ‘feebleminded’ children and the exploitation of non-disabled and disabled women in the care, research and reform contexts. Current perspectives on disability are presented with the theory of ‘abelism’ used to critique current practices of a gendered workforce, sterilization of women with intellectual disability, prenatal testing and genetic counselling. It is argued a feminist critique of history is required for further use of the feminist perspective in working with people with an intellectual disability.

The report details the outcomes of a collaborative study into the service provision to people with a disability nationally and internationally with the aim of finding out what could be adapted to suit the needs of people with a disability living in Queensland. The current trends in funding and service provision for people with a disability, the features of effective approaches,  and standards used to measure effective provision of services are explored in the study as well how these could be implemented in Queensland. The report finds that self directed care/individual funding and independent living with community service support are the current service provision trends. Some of the reported characteristics of effective models includes systematic allocation of individual funding, local area coordination, universal, mainstream services, de-compartmentalisation, and using a combination of formal and informal support. The article provides a good orientation to the variety of models used in Australia and nationally including cost analysis, case studies and diagrammatic representations of information.

In this reply to Neil Crowther’s critique of the ‘disability movement’ , Oliver and Barnes (2008) begin by exposing the issues relating to defining the ‘disability movement’ and the unclear boundaries between what constitutes a user lead organisation. The historical developments of the ‘disabled people’s movement’ ( as opposed to the ‘disability movement’, whose intentions are not always clear) are explored briefly. The overall suggestion is that to become involved in or offer critique of the ‘disabled people’s movement’ one must engage with the appropriate historical account and achievements.

This report explores the use of the term ‘mental retardation’ in the U.S, but also includes international data. The report has four main focus areas. Firstly the trends in definitions used, which showed that those of the American Association on Mental Retardation and that used in the DSM- IV are most commonly used.  Secondly the usage of the term ‘mental retardation’ was surveyed internationally which found that ‘mental retardation was still most community used in the U.S, and ‘intellectual disability’ most common in the commonwealth countries such as Australia. Thirdly, the label of ‘mentally retarded’ was explored in terms of how pejorative, that is-  denotes negative image, connotation and stereotyping is viewed generally, by parents, professional and families. Lastly, the effect of diagnosis, definition and label are discussed in the context of government policy and eligibility criteria for social services such as Medicaid which provides an example of how Australian policy could be analysed with the same focus.

From a sociological perspective this article explores ‘disability’ in constructed as an identity and how it’s given meaning. Disability and stigma as discussed throughout. An alternative case is provided to demonstrate the ability of one family to avoid and reject taking on a stigmatized indentify within themselves, their families and wider social networks. The factors that lead to this ability to reject the stigma as the ability to reinterpret the language used by agencies to define them, the reinforcement of positive identities by wider kin and social networks, their values roles as family members and avoiding being full-time clients of human service organisations and finally their interpretation of competence as relative. The stigmatizing labels sourced from, and allocated by government policy, statutory organisations and human service agencies are contrasted to the identities formed by the family, kin and networks.

Christmas is Purgatory is a photographic essay complied in 1965 after US Senator Robert Kennedy visited became aware of the horrific conditions inside initiations for the ‘mentally retarded’. Senator Kennedy’s reactions were the catalyst of the author’s project to document and expose the experiences of people living in institutions in the U.S. The photographic essay is in black and white still shots and not always the clearest of photographs due to the conditions under which the photographs were taken. The authors point that although the essay shows, the majority of institutions where inhumane, cruel and neglectful places that there are a few institutions and dedicated workers that represented a minority.

This article is an extract from unit of study on learning disability. It provides an historical account of learning disability from the 1400’s to 2003, including legislative and policy changes in Scotland over this time. The historical context is used to discuss the past and present beliefs about and attitudes toward people with a learning disability, as well as the influence these historical events have had on social provision for this group of people. From this perspective the role of policy and legisltation is shown to have an impactful influence on the perceptions about and experiences of people with a learning disability. 

Campbell (2003) in her thesis on ableism and technology, provides a lengthy discussion of how technological improvements are seen as the new answer to the ‘problem’ of disability. Case points include genetics or early detection technology which aim to eradicate the ‘problem’ or at least alleviate it. The theory of ableism is discussed as the real reason the people with a disability experience marginalisation and oppression- it is the ideology that tells us what we should be. Ableism does not allow for ‘difference’, which is what this thesis advocates for. The path of inquiry in this thesis is to find out what disability tells us about what it means to able, instead of the usual which entails the able determining what it means to have a disability. This article is lengthy, but does provide case examples of discussion points.

‘Shut Out’ (2009) reports on the national consultation aimed at forming a National Disability Strategy to improve the experiences of people with disability their families and carers. The report provides an account of the consultations which show that people with a disability are not currently offered the same access to a meaningful but ordinary life. Shut Out (2009) offers accounts of the barriers people with a disability experience in relation discrimination, support services, employment, access to transport and the physical environment, education and social isolation. Issues of social, cultural and political isolation are the main themes of the report, with possible solutions presented. The report details possible directions of the National Disability Strategy to address some of these issues including the national, coordinated approach, adherence to the UN Convention of the Right of Persons with Disabilities, creation of an ‘Office of Disability’, and an implementation and monitoring strategy.

This study aims to investigate the experiences of children it with a learning disability in respite units. The study used the accounts of the respite care staff, parents, teachers and children to gather information about distress levels. It is reported that up to 54% of the children experienced medium to strong negative reactions. Complexities such as the inconsistency between reports of distress for the same child by different people and the possible conflict of interest between the parental and child needs were discussed. Suggestion further areas of research include further exploration of the experiences of children with learning disabilities in respite centres, locating best practice and finding strategies to manage the distress of children in respite as well as the needs of parents.

Kudlick, C. (2003). Disability History: Why We Need Another “Other”. The American Historical Review (108)3.

Kudlick’s article encourages the study of disability in its own right. She suggests that the study of disability move beyond the individual to how, as a social category, disability contributes to the understanding of hierarchies of society using a socio-political analysis.  Kudlick argues that disability should be seen as a social category similar to that of gender and race, especially considering the extend of the lived experience in society. The article suggests that those interested in fields of study such as politics, history, labour, economics, religion, medicine and many other fields should consider conducting analysis using a disability focus. The author then provides a discussion of the current literature available that uses an analysis of disability as well as a detailed breakdown of deafness in a historical context.