Rights statement: The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, History of Psychiatry, 25 (2), 2014, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2014 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the History of Psychiatry page: http://hpy.sagepub.com/ on SAGE Journals Online: http://online.sagepub.com/
Accepted author manuscript, 506 KB, PDF document
Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Shifting boundaries between the normal and the pathological
T2 - the case of mild intellectual disability
AU - Cooper, Rachel
N1 - The final, definitive version of this article has been published in the Journal, History of Psychiatry, 25 (2), 2014, © SAGE Publications Ltd, 2014 by SAGE Publications Ltd at the History of Psychiatry page: http://hpy.sagepub.com/ on SAGE Journals Online: http://online.sagepub.com/
PY - 2014/6
Y1 - 2014/6
N2 - When disorders fade into normality, how can the threshold between normality and disorder be determined? In considering mild intellectual disability, I argue that economic factors partly determine thresholds. We tend to assume that the relationship between disorder, need and services is such that: first, a cut-off point between the disordered and the normal is determined; second, a needy population is identified; and third, resources are found (or at least should be found) to meet this need. However, the changing definitions of intellectualdisability can best be understood if we think of this happening in reverse. That is, first, certain resources are thought obtainable, and then a cut-off point for disorder is selected which supplies an appropriately sized ‘needy population’.
AB - When disorders fade into normality, how can the threshold between normality and disorder be determined? In considering mild intellectual disability, I argue that economic factors partly determine thresholds. We tend to assume that the relationship between disorder, need and services is such that: first, a cut-off point between the disordered and the normal is determined; second, a needy population is identified; and third, resources are found (or at least should be found) to meet this need. However, the changing definitions of intellectualdisability can best be understood if we think of this happening in reverse. That is, first, certain resources are thought obtainable, and then a cut-off point for disorder is selected which supplies an appropriately sized ‘needy population’.
KW - Boundaries of disorder
KW - economics
KW - intellectual disability
KW - moron
KW - threshold
U2 - 10.1177/0957154X13518721
DO - 10.1177/0957154X13518721
M3 - Journal article
VL - 25
SP - 171
EP - 186
JO - History of Psychiatry
JF - History of Psychiatry
SN - 0957-154X
IS - 2
ER -