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Fundamentals of Theory and Practice Revisited: Adult Clients With Mild ‘Intellectual Disability’: Rethinking Our Assumptions
Author(s) -
Gallagher Eddie
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of family therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.297
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1467-8438
pISSN - 0814-723X
DOI - 10.1002/j.1467-8438.2002.tb00518.x
Subject(s) - confusion , intellectual disability , psychology , learning disability , anxiety , stigma (botany) , medical model of disability , style (visual arts) , social psychology , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , psychiatry , psychoanalysis , archaeology , history
There is considerable confusion surrounding the concept of ‘intellectual disability’ and great stigma attached to this label. This paper questions whether the concept is a useful one when applied to adults with mild learning difficulties and encourages less rigidity in categorisation. Some implications of a pseudo‐medical model are examined. Counselling for adults with mild intellectual disabilities has been much neglected. Some aspects of counselling these individuals are briefly discussed: expectations; communication style; exploring the client's idea of ‘disability’; accepting versus challenging ‘disability’; importance of relationships; exploring discrimination and abuse; depression and anxiety; and the danger of assuming a lack of understanding.