How has the social psychology of prejudice enhanced our understanding of learning difficulties - Essay Example

Prejudice is gradually becoming unacceptable towards many other social groups, but it is not challenged enough in the case of people with a learning difficulties. These people are not visible members of their community; they exist in the community rather than living as part of it From this point of viw disbld popl r forcd to liv in socil prison. Whil no on cn objct to cmpigning for 'rights' so tht th prison in which w liv is md mor humn it is only politicl buffoon who blivs tht xploring prisonr xprincs cn ld to mnciption!

Nothing lss thn dismntling th prison nd rplcing it with non-comptitiv form of socity cn brkdown th doors which br our mnciption. I bliv tht w cnnot undrstnd or dl with disbility without dling with th ssntil ntur of socity itslf. To do this disbld popl must find wys of ngging in th clss struggl whr th historicl dirction of socity is fought, won or lost. It is in this rn tht th boundris of knowldg tht hv put disbld popl sid from th 'norml' cn nd hv to b opnly qustiond. For m rpossssing th socil modl of disbility mns srching for opnings in th structurs of socity whr w might ffctivly contribut with othrs in th rstructuring of socity so tht it is nithr comptitiv nor disbling for ll popl.

Th Socil Modl of Disbility ws dvisd by disbld popl, whos xprinc of th hlth nd wlfr systm, s wll s socity's gnrl rction to thm, md thm fl socilly isoltd nd opprssd. Th dnil of opportunity, th rstriction of choic nd slf-dtrmintion, nd th lck of control ovr th support systms in thir livs ld thm to qustion th ssumptions undrlying th dominnc of th mdicl modl. Thy thrfor st out to dvlop n ltrntiv, which hs now grown in scndncy. Th Socil Modl of Disbility dscribs th rstrictions nd limittions in th livs of disbld popl s rsulting from nvironmntl, ttitudinl nd orgnistionl brrirs within socity.

Th dfinitions nd lngug thy us compris th undrlying ssumptions of ths modls. Likwis, th outcoms, including th typ of srvic dvlopd, dpnd on such ssumptions. Th concpt of 'normlistion' bgn to influnc th dlivry of cr for popl with lrning disbility during th 1980s. Normlistion thory mphsiss th uniqu vlu of th individul, thir right to choic nd opportunity, nd th right to ny xtr support thy nd to fulfil thir potntil. Thr ws rcognition tht institutions wr mjor brrir to inclusion.Normlistion, spcilly its North mricn strnd, is n incontrovrtibl dogm.

nyon who drd voic disgrmnt ws lblld s dngrously ill informd, hrtic (for fullr discussion of th history of normlistion s Chppll in this volum). Yt normlistion ws vry limitd in its critiqu of th rsons why popl with lrning difficultis wr dvlud by socity, bsing it on lblling thory. Th rgumnt ws tht bcus lrning difficulty/mntl rtrdtion/mntl hndicp/tc. wr ngtiv lbls, srvics (not socity s in th socil modl) should do ll thy cn to offr popl vlud socil rols nd positiv imgs. It ws movmnt which fostrd intgrtion of popl with lrning difficultis into minstrm socity, which imd to disprs popl nd hlp thm dvlop rltionships with non-disbld popl bcus thy r mor vlud' s th trminology puts it, nd to downply diffrnc, th vry ntithsis of th wy th socil modl of disbility critiqud socil brrirs nd hlpd t lst som disbld popl lrn to dvlop solidrity with on nothr, to rvlu