ABSTRACT
Ethics is a term that is bandied about with a sense of near abandon in the field of de velopmental disabilities. Broadly, in this context, the term ethics or ethical is gener ally used to refer to a position, or rule, stated in the form of a moral imperative, with the implication that if one's conduct is guided by this rule, one will be acting in an ethical manner. Over the past 150 (or so) years of organized developmental disabili ties services, these moral imperatives, and therefore the nature of ethical conduct, have changed dramatically, and at an increasing pace during the past 15 years. In some cases and over the short term, changing moral imperatives have consisted of a subtle re-cloaking of past imperatives; on the other hand, some of the more aspirational imperatives of the 1970s that developed as providers and clinicians sought to develop alternatives to then prevalent institutional care have not been completely realized today. Nonetheless, while there are some aspects of ethical con duct that have changed dramatically over time, for example, the conduct of workers within services as the nature of those services progressively changes, there are some aspects, of professional conduct, as a contrasting example, that endure and have not changed to the same degree. This chapter will focus on the contrast between ethical positions set forth in publications within the field, and more typical perspectives in society and among ethicists with respect to how and on what basis conduct is judged to be ethical or unethical.
