Principles of Normalisation
Title: Describe how you would apply the principles of normalisation for people with Intellectual Disability
Introduction:
The Collins English Dictionary gives the definition of normalisation as a ‘policy of offering mentally or physically handicapped people patterns, conditions and experiences of everyday life as close as possible to those of non-handicapped people by not segregating them physically, socially and administratively from the rest of society’ http://www.collinsdictionary.com. This essentially means that people with intellectual disability are accepted by the communities in which they are placed and that they are offered the same rights and services as other people. It involves developing daily/weekly routine and including normal conditions such as freedom of choice, access to education, right to work and housing. Social Role Valorisation evolved from the principles of normalisation as its bedrock. The concept of normalisation is that the person with intellectual disability is placed in a ‘normal’ environment as opposed to trying to make the person with intellectual disability ‘fit in’ with perceived society norms. The author will look at where the concept of normalisation first came from, the principles, ethics, common misconceptions and criticisms of the application of normalisation over the years.
Normalisation, as a concept, was firstly developed in Scandinavia in the 1960s by Bengt Nirje who believed that people with intellectual disability should have the same opportunities and have the same human rights as mainstream society (Nijre B 1969). In the 1970s, it was further developed by Wolf Wolfensberger through his work with the National Institute on Mental Retardation. Normalisation impacted greatly on the way services were operated and streamlined for people with intellectual disabilities throughout UK and Europe. It took the emphasis off the disability being viewed as a medical problem and focussed on the person as opposed to
Introduction:
The Collins English Dictionary gives the definition of normalisation as a ‘policy of offering mentally or physically handicapped people patterns, conditions and experiences of everyday life as close as possible to those of non-handicapped people by not segregating them physically, socially and administratively from the rest of society’ http://www.collinsdictionary.com. This essentially means that people with intellectual disability are accepted by the communities in which they are placed and that they are offered the same rights and services as other people. It involves developing daily/weekly routine and including normal conditions such as freedom of choice, access to education, right to work and housing. Social Role Valorisation evolved from the principles of normalisation as its bedrock. The concept of normalisation is that the person with intellectual disability is placed in a ‘normal’ environment as opposed to trying to make the person with intellectual disability ‘fit in’ with perceived society norms. The author will look at where the concept of normalisation first came from, the principles, ethics, common misconceptions and criticisms of the application of normalisation over the years.
Normalisation, as a concept, was firstly developed in Scandinavia in the 1960s by Bengt Nirje who believed that people with intellectual disability should have the same opportunities and have the same human rights as mainstream society (Nijre B 1969). In the 1970s, it was further developed by Wolf Wolfensberger through his work with the National Institute on Mental Retardation. Normalisation impacted greatly on the way services were operated and streamlined for people with intellectual disabilities throughout UK and Europe. It took the emphasis off the disability being viewed as a medical problem and focussed on the person as opposed to