Social Policy and Mental Retardation Tammi Reynolds, BA & Mark Dombeck, Ph.D. Updated: Aug 24th 2006The 1960s was a decade of great social change exemplified by an emerging tolerance for and acceptance of mentally retarded individuals. As people became educated about mental retardation and the harsh conditions this population lived under in institutions, momentum for social and political reform began to develop. Among the major legislative achievements of this period were the Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act, which provided the basis for construction of numerous community-based outpatient treatment centers where recently deinstitutionalized mentally ill and mentally retarded individual could go for assistance, and the American with Disabilities Act, which heightened social awareness and improved the quality of life for individuals with disabilities, including individuals with mental retardation. Presently, all citizens of the United States, including citizens with mental retardation, share the same inalienable rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. These rights include the right to vote, to exercise freedom of speech, and the right to marry. In recent years, these rights have been interpreted to mean that all individuals with mental retardation, even those with severe mental retardation, have the right to live and to be educated in the least restrictive environment possible.  In the past, individuals with mental retardation were abused, neglected, and exploited. Today, in the United States, they have the right to be protected from such mistreatment. They also have the right to equal housing and equal employment opportunities with comfortable living conditions and fair wages for work. They also retain the right to privacy, with confidential medical records. If they are to be committed against their will, they have the right to be notified with details of this legal proceeding at least ten days before the hearing. Mentally retarded people have the right to an attorney in this context, even if they cannot afford to pay for one. They have the right to present witnesses on their behalf, as well as the right to an appeal. If they are committed against their will, they have the right to be placed in the least restrictive environment appropriate for meeting their needs and abilities. It is not a perfect world, of course, and these rights are not always perfectly enforced, but they are there for the enforcing. The social and technological changes of the twentieth and prior centuries have made possible a new conception of what it means to be mentally retarded in the twenty-first century. Today, mentally retarded individuals can legitimately be seen as valuable people capable of development and learning, becoming a part of society, and fulfilling their potential when provided with proper encouragement and appropriate training and education. Under this outlook, the mentally retarded population is being integrated into many mainstream schools and communities, and encouraged to become functioning members of their communities. | 
