UNIVERSITY OF SZCZECIN

TERESA ŻÓŁKOWSKA

REFLECTIONS ON MODERATE
AND SEVERE MENTAL RETARDATIONS
CHOSEN TEXTS

SZCZECIN 2008

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 REVIEWERS
Prof. dr hab. Helena Łaś
Prof. dr hab. Jacek Błeszyński

Translation
Karolina Żółkowska

Cover Designer
Marzena Kamasa

Typesetter
Marzena Kamasa

© University of Szczecin,
Zakład Pedagogiki Specjalnej

ISBN

Publishing House
ZAPOL
Szczecin, al. Piastów 42
tel./fax (091) 434 10 21

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 Contents:

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1. Profound mental retardation as a subject of theoretical analysis . . . 7
1.1. Mental retardation – a notion, criteria, classification, characteristic,
etiology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2. Person with deep intellectual disability in empirical researches . . . 31
2.1. Social competence of people with deep intellectual
disability from theory of attachment perspective . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.2. Level of self-acceptance in people with profound
intellectual disability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
2.3. Feeling of sense of life of adult persons with
intellectual disability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
3. Social perception of people with profound metal retardation . . . . 65
3.1. The alien – the disabled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
3.2. Concept of disabled person as participant of social life
– subjectivity, independent life – self-determination,
integration, normalization, equalization of opportunity . . . . . . . . . 75
4. People with profound mental retardation within social
support – concepts and reality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
4.1. Space of social support of people with intellectual disability . . . . . 91
4.2. Social support of adult mentally retarded
– reflections and practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
4.3. Subjectivity of the intellectually disabled persons
in theory and practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
4.4. Integration in education in the light of research . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
4.5. Realization concept of independent living
– personal assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
4.6. Normalization of life conditions of people with deep
intellectual disability – the ideal concept and the reality . . . . . . . 153
4.7. Normalization of work conditions of people with
intellectual disability – the state of affairs, dilemmas . . . . . . . . . . 161
4.7.1. The intellectually disabled on open labor market . . . . . . . . 161
4.7.2. Workshops of class therapy – search for normalization . . . . 170

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 Introduction

In recent years there were many major changes in the field of pedagogy of
mentally retarded, especially in pedagogy concerning people with profound
mental retardation. These changes concern understanding of the mental re-
tardation, and what’s more there were developed new ways of supporting
those people in the major areas of their lives such as; leisure time, educa-
tion, work and so forth. The consequences of new conception of mental re-
tardation are new socio-political actions and changes in attitude of society
toward mentally retarded and attitude of mentally retarded toward their dis-
ability. Social consent, socio-economical transition, these are only few fac-
tors, which caused the switch in interests of science and practice concerning
issues of improving, care and adjustment of profound mentally retarded to
society and to issues of active participation these people in the social life.
The participation which is based on subjectivity, respecting rules and laws,
respecting dignity. Mentioned changes are the main context of reflections
presented in this book. The book consists of four chapters, which show the
problem of profound mentally retarded person in three dimensions; theo-
retical (mental retardation as a subject of theoretical analysis), empirical
(person with profound mental retardation in empirical researches) social
conditions (person with profound mental retardation in the area of social
support and his or her reality).
This way of presenting the problem was intended, the main aim was to
show that the important matter of pedagogy of profound mentally retarded
is still open. There are still many unsolved problems and many areas that are
needed to be diagnosed or repeated analyzed. For knowledge and concrete
practical solutions wait tutors, educators, therapists, and the most parents.
Here I would like to thank everyone who was engaged in preparation this
book. I want to thank my daughter – Karolina Żółkowska for the effort she
put in translating the articles. Separately, I would like to thank Reviewers,
Prof Helena Łaś and Prof Jacek Bleszyński.
Teresa Żółkowska

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 1
PROFOUND MENTAL RETARDATION
AS A SUBJECT OF THEORETICAL ANALYSIS

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 1.1. Mental retardation – a notion, criteria, classification,
characteristic, etiology1

The research perspective and notion of mental retardation

There have been great terminological differential within problem of men-
tal retardation up to 2007, which resulted from the fact that there was not
integrated knowledge within this area. Among others things, the problems
resulted from the fact that mental retardation was and still is a problem that
draws attention of many branches of science: from the biological and medi-
cal area, to the social and psychological-pedagogical branches. In 2007 the
American Association of Mental Retardation (AAMR), which changed its
name to the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Dis-
abilities2 (AAIDD) in January, introduced a term of intellectual disability.
The complexity of mental retardation causes different approaches to this
phenomena and different research and practical consequences. M. P. Mal-
noey and M.P. Ward (Kowalik,1989, p. 32) distinguish three research per-
spectives: clinical, developmental and medical. According to the clinical per-
spective mental retardation is treated as a medical problem. The cause of it
is a biological defect which in a irreversible way harms structures and func-
tions of central nervous system. Mental retardation at clinical point of view
is treated as a persistent, irreversible state resistant to every stimulation dif-
ferent than biological ones. Such a possibility of stimulation exists only the-
oretically because practically at present stage of medicine’s development an
interference in brain’s structures is still limited. According to this approach
1
I used in the present paper lengthy extracts from book entitled “Mental retardation – so-
cio-pedagogical context” , I have been preparing, it is an unpublished typescript.
2
The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD)
is an organization that every few years appoints the Expert Committee that deal with
analysis of situation of terminology, classification, diagnosis, system of supporting of
mental retarded people and set directions of research and practical actions, http://www.
aamr.org/

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 TERESA ŻÓŁKOWSKA
REFLECTIONS ON MODERATE AND SEVERE MENTAL RETARDATIONS
10

disabled person is seen as a individual, who cannot be helped, whose state

has to be accepted, who should be kept in care by isolating in a special insti-
tution. Dealing with disability consists mainly in prophylactic actions, that
is in pursuit to elimination of these factors, which are known as that, which
can contribute to come into being of disorders.
Developmental perspective considers the intellectual disability as a fail-
ure in human development. Human development is determinated by large
number of various factors, both biological and non-biological – environmen-
tal ones. Intellectually disabled person is treated in the scope of most traits
as someone similar to person with normal intellectual norm. The develop-
mental approach assumes possibility of comprehensive influence on disabled
person. The disability is treated not as organic but as a psychological disor-
der, as a state which is an outcome of incorrect developmental process. The
process involves structure and function of Self, and its peculiar property is
blocking of cognitive activity. The result of this process is a specific triad:
disabled Self, mind and a disabled life (Kościelska, 1994, p. 39). This broaden
look on intellectually disabled person is valuable from many reason. First of
all, it points to these development’s sphere which given person maintained
on the highest level. Emphasising strengths in disabled person development
results in diminishing the distance between so called pathology and norm.
Mentally retarded person in comparison to the normal individual does not
represent utterly different quality, but a person who is very close to normal
individual in terms of chosen features of functioning, but with some retar-
dation in terms of others. The developmental approach shows also connec-
tions which exist between particular spheres of development. It emphasises
that damaging one of developmental processes influences in a bad way on
others. But it shows also that correct processes can help or compensate other
disordered ones.
The social perspective considers intellectual disability as a social and cul-
tural fact. The main emphasis is put on deviation from the normal behav-
iour, which is thought as disabled behaviour. The disability itself is treated
as acquiring by individual the role of mentally retarded person. Disordered
behaviour is mostly defined by social labeling. The differences among dis-
abled people disappear because all of them belong to one category. Along
with distinguishing of this category, there are expectations about the people
who are included to it. Recognition somebody as a disabled person followed

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