Winterbourne view time for change1/28/2024 ![]() This, Towell says now, was “more than a slogan.” This was captured in the recognition of people’s right to live 'ordinary lives' like their fellow citizens. Backed by the resources and reputation of the King’s Fund, David Towell and his colleagues brought together people keen to offer a new vision of the opportunities and support that should be available to people with learning disabilities. In the United Kingdom the leading example of this ideas-into-practice process during this period was the 'Ordinary Life' initiative. ![]() For now, suffice to say that if you were involved in learning disabilities services in that period, Wolfensberger’s and O’Brien’s publications were the wellsprings of inspiration to which you returned – not the White Paper. The collaborative nature of the inspiration behind the Five Accomplishments is a key feature of unofficial social policy, which I will return to later. ![]() I have tinkered most with refining the written expression, but what is written results from listening to many groups who seek expression of the highest purpose the work of assisting people with disabilities can serve.” Calling these ideas my possession narrows credit and responsibility far too much. “The statement of Accomplishments itself is a collective creation. 2 Though these are credited to John O’Brien, when I contacted O’Brien himself about this article he said: This was followed by several publications promoting the Five Accomplishments (“relationships, dignity, choice, real contribution, and inclusion in community life”). The collective creation of the "Five Accomplishments"Ī year after the 1971 White Paper, Wolf Wolfensberger's The Principal of Normalisation in Human Services was published in Toronto. Furthermore, when official social policy was at its best, it tended to simply pick up and formalise what had already been happening unofficially anyway. On the other hand, what I termed ‘unofficial’ social policy – the Venn diagram of ideas, visions and actions generated by pioneers, thinkers and activists – had been the true engine of change. 1 It seemed to me then that official social policy – the White Papers, the legislation etc – had generally failed to bring about improvements in the lives of people with learning disabilities. I first noticed this nearly 30 years ago, when I wrote a paper later published as my first book chapter. Yet if you compare each version of history with the actual improvements in the day-to-day, year-to-year experience of people with learning disabilities, their families and their supporters, it is the second that rings true. The second is harder, and throws up something more like a hugely complex Venn diagram. The first is relatively easy, and yields a linear view of successive, apparently related events. The first is to follow the paper trail of legislation, White Papers, government initiatives and the like back to the 1971 White Paper, Better Services for the Mentally Handicapped, which advocated care in the community.Īnother is to trace the impact of the ideas, visions and actions of innovators, campaigners and pioneers, generally working in service provision and academia. There are two ways of reading the recent history of learning disabilities services in the UK. A version of this article was previously published in Learning Disability Today.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |