From feeble-minded to mentally retarded: child protection and the changing place of disabled children in the mid-twentieth century United States

摘要

American attitudes and policies toward children with disabilities changed significantly between the 1920s and the 1950s. Drawn from a larger study of the history of child protection in the United States, I argue that a redefinition of disabled children occurred in this era. Earlier fears that feeble-minded children posed a menace to American society gave way to new anxieties that mentally retarded children placed undue strains on individual families. Both concerns encouraged the segregation and often the institutionalisation of such children, but within very different class, family, medical and policy contexts and with very different results. These developments are best understood by connecting together the emerging histories of childhood and disability through the concept of policy drift.View full textDownload full textKeywordsage, childhood, child protection, feeble-minded, handicapped children, incrementalism, institutionalisation, intellectual disability, medical model of disability, mental retardation, mid-twentieth century United States, parental organisations, policy drift, sterilisationRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00309230.2011.621198