ABSTRACT
SOME CONTEXTUAL NOTES In order to understand phenomena such as gentle teaching, it is necessary to set the “movement” in its historical context.
The way we treat people with intellectual impairments (mental retardation) has always caused concern for society. In the UK and in the United States, the late 19th century saw the growth of a movement to build asylums in which people who would otherwise be at serious risk of exploitation and harm would be cared for and “educated.” Alaszewski (1986) described how intellectually impaired people were often incarcerated in local work houses and private mad houses, in circumstances which caused considerable concern. In England, Parliament set up a Select Committee on Madhouses, which published its report in 1815. This Select Committee obtained and made public the plans for a model asylum. In the middle of the 19th century, it became clear that intellectually impaired people should not be mixed in with the “insane,” and the mental deficiency colonies were born. The aim of many of these institutions was philanthropic, and historical evidence suggests that some people’s lives were much improved.
