ABSTRACT
Some researchers have suggested that the problem of mental handicap is not the result of one handicap, but a combination of factors. Firstly, the individual’s own mental handicap; secondly, an imposed or acquired handicap (through deficiencies in the conditions of life created for him/her by society, or through the attitudes of people s/he has contact with) which adds to the primary handicap; and thirdly, the awareness of being mentally handicapped-which could lead to ‘..distorted self-concepts, defence mechanisms, closing in on inner problems and defeatist allowances….’ (Nirje, 1970, 64). This chapter (in common with our study) investigates this assertion, focusing primarily on how life conditions, and the perceptions or attitudes of carers influence the self-image of people with a mental handicap and the image they present to the outside world.
