Gunther and Diekema (2006) have described a controversial intervention they provided to Ashley, a 6-year-old girl with profound and multiple impairments, which they refer to as "growth-attenuation therapy." This intervention, approved and apparently promoted by the parents, consisted of high doses of estrogen to bring about a permanent attenuation…

This article presents the author's comments on Simon and Lichten's "Defining Mental Retardation: A Matter of Life and Death." Lichten and Simon (2007) argued for the use of a Total Quotient (TQ) that combines existing IQ and adaptive functioning scores into a single index. They proposed that the TQ index will improve the accuracy of mental…

This article written by a man with an intellectual disability, describes his experiences living with the label, "intellectually handicapped". Institutionalized at an early age, he relates the loneliness, isolation, and homesickness he experienced, and learned to accept. At the age of 7 he was placed in foster care, and forced to work as an adult.…

Iacono (2006) examines in detail consent issues and what she considers a growing tendency for Research Ethics Committees (RECs) and Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) to make increasingly "conservative" decisions about research involving persons with intellectual disability. She also implies that this trend can adversely affect research and is not…

This article presents the author's view on the complexities of involving vulnerable people in research. The author discusses the current approach of the present regulatory system in reviewing a research. He mentions that the current system does not show equality among researchers. For the author, it is important that the system shows…

Evident from the responses to the author's paper is the fact that other researchers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia have had cause to consider the issues that contribute to the complexities of involving people with intellectual disabilities, who may not be able to provide their own consent, in research. Comments by Aman and…

The authors' reaction to Dr Teresa Iacono's article "Ethical challenges and complexities of including people with intellectual disability as participants in research" is presented. Among other things, they find that Dr Iacono has done an outstanding job of describing creative solutions for obtaining appropriate informed consent from people with…

Language relating to any concept will tend, over time, to acquire some of the concept?s emotional impact. Thus, words that were, at one stage, neutral become laden with meaning. This document discusses the importance of being aware of the effects that language usage has on communication. It is important to ensure that written and verbal…

This paper considers two major movements affecting the lives of people with intellectual disabilities: normalization and inclusion. It reviews the aims, processes, and outcomes of the normalization and social role valorization movement and explores its compatibility with inclusion. Lessons from normalization are applied to the inclusion movement.…

This paper proposes a model whereby children's behavior problems, parental stress, and parenting behavior are related. It reports evidence that child behavior problems lead to parental stress but finds other model aspects have not been tested in the developmental disability field. Also considered are practical implications integrating research of…

This article reviews policy developments in deinstitutionalization and community inclusion in North America, specifically the United States. It begins with a critique of the continuum concept and the associated principle of the least restrictive environment. Past and current controversies surrounding deinstitutionalization are then examined.…

This review considers the prevalence and nature of physically aggressive behaviors by people with mental retardation and describes possible causal factors. The present status of both behavioral and pharmacological interventions for aggression are assessed, and the importance of devising reactive management plans for aggressive behaviors is…

This article uses Maslo's (1943) need hierarchy as an ordering framework to identify key attributes of the concept of home. Home attributes are ranked according to relative contribution to meeting individual needs, thereby presenting residential service providers with a guide to developing genuine homes for people with disabilities. (Contains…

This article posits that arguments for supporting or opposing the value of the inclusion model in the education of students with disabilities can be placed into four categories: consequentialist, justice, rights, and needs. It discusses how the goals of parents are often in conflict with policies supported by service providers. (Author/CR)

Addresses issues and methodologies for the assessment and promotion of quality of life (QOL) of people with intellectual disabilities. Considers objective and subjective components of QOL, both process-centered and outcome-centered approaches to the assessment of QOL, the difficulties of eliciting subjective QOL information from this population,…