Chapter 1.
Introduction
Shameful Past Institutions for Persons with Intellectual Disability or Other Developmental Disabilities
Author: Ronald J. Comer
Princeton University
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1.1 Shameful Past Institutions for Persons with Intellectual Disability or Other Developmental Disabilities
This video depicts the Fernald School, an institution for "feeble-minded" boys existing in the 1920s, which was, in fact, part of the American eugenics movement. It also shows interviews with former residents who recall severe abuse and mistreatment, and it discusses the lasting impact of an incorrect diagnosis of "moron." As you will see in the video, evidence has come to light that involuntary experiments were conducted on the boys in past decades.
1.2 Check Your Understanding
1.
1. The eugenics movement, on display in the video at the Fernald School, held that people with intellectual developmental disorder, or intellectual disability (previously called mental retardation):
2. Like most state hospitals and institutions for people with intellectual developmental disorder between 1841 and 1950, the Fernald School was characterized by each of the following, except:
3. Each of the following statements about the eugenics movement is true, except:
4. Institutionalization in places like the Fernald School often resulted in each of the following long term effects, except:
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