Activism and human rights for people with mental disabilities in postcommunist Europe.

Disability activists emerged as an important influence over the first decade of the new millennium in postcommunist Central and Eastern Europe, a particularly critical time for progress in human rights and services for people with mental disabilities in that part of the world. An entrenched custodial institutional infrastructure existed for children and adults with mental disabilities in communist Central and Eastern Europe between the 1940s and the fall of communism in 1989. Activists who emerged in the subsequent postcommunist era faced multiple challenges and important new opportunities in their efforts to address human rights and quality of life for citizens with mental disabilities. Critical to their efforts were new civil society freedoms that allowed for the establishment of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), which had previously been prohibited. Those activists and NGOs tended to represent one of two distinct missions: Either a focus on human rights protection with a watch-dog function, or an emphasis on service-provision and community-based support. Across both types of activism and NGO missions, the goal to reduce the imposition of custodial institutional life on people with mental disabilities was a priority. In addition to the history of mental disability activism in postcommunist Central and Eastern Europe, this article addresses the implications for American psychologists involved in cross-cultural and international work in disability issues, and notes the challenges facing psychologists who are engaged in both activism and the profession. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Between Defectological Narratives and Institutional Realities: The "Mentally Retarded" Child in the Soviet Union of the 1930s.

This article analyzes the gap between the defectological narrative of care and the reality of institutional life for children with learning disabilities in the Soviet Union of the 1930s. It shows that, under Stalin, the Soviet discipline of defectology entailed a promise of correction and social integration that aligned well with the official rhetoric of triumphant socialism and that incorporated new, specific ideological meanings into its long-standing narrative of care. I also show that the defectological narrative was rarely realized in practice due to not only scarce material resources but also a profound reversal of defectological and Marxist conceptions of labor. By analyzing the disconnect between rhetoric and reality in the treatment of "mentally retarded" children in prewar Stalinism, this article contributes to a deeper understanding of the Soviet system and ideology of care.

California's Sterilization Survivors: An Estimate and Call for Redress.

From 1919 to 1952, approximately 20 000 individuals were sterilized in California's state institutions on the basis of eugenic laws that sought to control the reproductive capacity of people labeled unfit and defective. Using data from more than 19 000 sterilization recommendations processed by state institutions over this 33-year period, we provide the most accurate estimate of living sterilization survivors. As of 2016, we estimate that as many as 831 individuals, with an average age of 87.9 years, are alive. We suggest that California emulate North Carolina and Virginia, states that maintained similar sterilization programs and recently have approved monetary compensation for victims. We discuss the societal obligation for redress of this historical injustice and recommend that California seriously consider reparations and full accountability.

[After the Action T4 : "Regionalized euthanasia" in the Günzburg Psychiatric Hospital]. / Nach der "Aktion T4" : "Regionalisierte Euthanasie" in der Heil- und Pflegeanstalt Günzburg.

BACKGROUND: In Bavarian psychiatric hospitals approximately 15,000 people with mental handicaps and mental illnesses were killed after the so-called Action T4. The Heil- und Pflegeanstalt (psychiatric hospital) Günzburg was a so-called Zwischenanstalt (interim institution). The aim of the study was to analyze its role in carrying out "regionalized euthanasia". METHODS: Based on defined criteria the patient records of deceased patients at the Günzburg Psychiatric Hospital between July 1941 and December 1943 were analyzed to establish whether criteria for "regionalized euthanasia" were fulfilled. RESULTS: During the study period 45 patients at the Günzburg Psychiatric Hospital probably died following actions by direct or indirect intention to kill using malnutrition, neglect, medication overdose or a combination of these actions. CONCLUSION: The Günzburg Psychiatric Hospital was involved in "regionalized euthanasia".

Consumed workers - Disable bodies. Historical knowledge formation after the cultural turn / Trabajadores consumidos - Cuerpos discapacitados: la formación del conocimiento histórico tras el giro cultural

Some recent OECD-studies tackle new psychosomatic symptoms in the context of work. So we find the paradoxical situation, that although the state of health and well-being in societies grows, statistics show growing rates of burn-out syndroms together with uneasiness, addiction and non-functioning. One in five workers suffer from a mental illness, such as depression or anxiety, and many more are struggling to cope. In a closer reading we can see, that the social-medical model still dominates this actual policy research, although the cultural model has gained growing recognition in the last fifteen years. But we find a double blank spot with relevance for historical knowledge formation: On the one side, studies on work that use the tool set of cultural studies can rarely be found. On the other side, disability studies that work with the cultural model are rarely tackling the working subject. Starting from this analytical point, this contribution wants to stimulate historical knowledge formation on the working subject. The epistemic perspective of this study is coined by the cultural model of disability; the methodology is based on the visual, the spatial and the linguistic turn. In studying historical artefacts like film scenes or juridical definitions, we can come to a closer understanding of how we conceptualise human beings. The thesis is, that during the 20th-century the changing 'microphysics of power' (Foucault) produced new forms of subjectivation: Either, workers tried to assimilate to the 'machine rhythms' or they uttered their needs in 'embodied dissent'. There are multilayered facets in between. I want to develop the argumentation that the body/mind-centering seems to be at the heart of the postfordist transformation. The article concludes by underlining the possibility to read bodies as a source, an approach Bryan S. Turner has theorized in his article 'Disability and the Sociology of the Body' (AU)

Algunos estudios recientes de la Organización para la Cooperación Económica y el Desarrollo (OECD) hablan de la aparición de nuevos síntomas psicosomáticos en el ámbito del trabajo. Nos encontramos con la paradoja de que a pesar de que el estado de salud y de bienestar crece en la sociedad, las tasas del síndrome de burnout, junto con la ansiedad, adicción y disfunción cada vez son más altas. Uno de cada cinco trabajadores padece algún tipo de enfermedad mental, como depresión o ansiedad, y muchos otros luchan para enfrentarse a ella. Una lectura atenta nos permite ver que el modelo socio-médico domina la investigación, a pesar de que en los últimos 15 años el modelo cultural ha ido cobrando cada vez más importancia. Sin embargo, existen dos puntos relevantes para el conocimiento histórico que necesitan mayor desarrollo: por un lado, existen pocos estudios sobre el trabajo que usen las herramientas de los estudios culturales y, por otro, los estudios sobre discapacidad basados en el modelo cultural raramente abordan el ámbito del sujeto trabajador. Partiendo de este punto de análisis, este artículo pretende estimular la reflexión sobre la formación del conocimiento histórico en el ambito del trabajo. La perspectiva epistemológica (AU)

Maria Montessori (1870-1952): Women's emancipation, pedagogy and extra verbal communication.

Maria Montessori is one of the most well-known women in Italian history. Although she was the first woman who graduated in medicine in Italy, she is mostly known as an educator. Her teaching method--the Montessori Method- is still used worldwide--Because she could not speak English during the imprisonment in India, there was a big obstacle for her communication with children. However, the need to adopt a non-verbal communication, led her to a sensational discovery: children use an innate and universal language. This language, made of gestures and mimic, is called extra verbal communication.

Maria Montessori (1870-1952): Women's emancipation, pedagogy and extra verbal communication

Maria Montessori is one of the most well-known women in Italian history. Although she was the first woman who graduated in medicine in Italy, she is mostly known as an educator. Her teaching method -the Montessori Method- is still used worldwide. Because she could not speak English during the imprisonment in India, there was a big obstacle for her communication with children. However, the need to adopt a non-verbal communication, led her to a sensational discovery: children use an innate and universal language. This language, made of gestures and mimic, is called extra verbal communication .

Surprisingly complex life: Sue Leung's story.

INTRODUCTION: While numerous studies relating to the lives of intellectually challenged people have been published previously, most have been from the caregiver's perspective and lack an insider's view. In addition, none of them were conducted in a Chinese context. Our purpose is to fill this gap by studying the life of Sue Leung, an intellectually disabled Chinese woman in Hong Kong. METHODS: Using a narrative approach that combined interviews and observational data collected over an extended time period, the research sought a holistic understanding of her life, how she interacts with others and the challenges and difficulties she faces. RESULTS: Sue Leung's life proved to be complex with social, spiritual, psychological, sexual and financial dimensions. Her story, in which she herself and other mentally impaired people are the actors, reflects to some degree the world of mentally impaired people, at least in Hong Kong. Their world is just as complex as that of anyone else. Violence, dangers, romances, friendships and goodwill also exist in that world. DISCUSSION: Sue Leung's story has helped to unravel the various dimensions of her life and enabled a deeper understanding of the challenges and difficulties a mildly intellectually disabled woman has to face in her life in Hong Kong. Social implications are discussed, and recommendations are made for future research.

[Polish neuropsychiatric environment to sterilization laws in the thirties of the twentieth century]. / Polskie srodowisko neuropsychiatryczne wobec ustaw sterylizacyjnych w latach trzydziestych XX wieku.

The article describes the considerations that were carried out by Polish psychiatrists and neurologists in the thirties of the twentieth century, due to the sterilization of persons with mental disorders. The paper presents a short history of sterilization laws in the world. The reaction to the German Law for the Prevention of Hereditary Diseased Offspring (1933) among Polish psychiatrists was presented. The views of psychiatrists and neurologists to the proposed sterilization law in Poland were also outlined. Two projects of eugenic laws in Poland came from psychiatrists. Sterilization Law in Poland ultimately was enacted.

["Euthanasia" of children in Nazi Germany - the case of Günter Nevermannn. On the responsibility of childhood and adolescent psychiatry in the past, the present, and the future]. / Nationalsozialistische «Kindereuthanasie¼ - das Beispiel Günter Nevermann. Zur Verantwortung der Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie in Vergangenheit, Gegenwart und Zukunft.

«Euthanasia¼ was the cynical euphemism used by the Nazis to refer to the systematic murder of hundreds of thousands of mentally sick and handicapped people between 1939 and 1945, at least 6,000 of whom were children. Based on the example of Günter Nevermann, this paper provides insight into the complex acts of registering, selecting, and targeting children labelled as "inferior" and "unworthy to live." This case clearly shows that Nazi doctors were not necessarily enmeshed in some tragic conflict. Rather, apparently without any qualms, they sacrificed the sick children who had been entrusted to their care, for the ideal of obtaining a "racially healthy corpus," a term used without being questioned. Most of the perpetrators were never brought to justice, and not a few of them later held managerial positions in child and adolescent psychiatry in the two German states. Many of them were members or even honorary members of the "Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie, Psychosomatik und Psychotherapie e. V." in its present or previous form. We feel it is necessary to inform the public effectively about this state of affairs, to discover what really happened and to determine who was responsible.

[From disability to the adunatos: some thoughts on disability and somatoform pain disorder]. / De l'invalide à l'adunatos: réflexions sur l'invalidité et le trouble somatoforme douloureux.

Disability, especially if related to a psychiatric disorder, such as somatoform pain disorder, is characterized by medical, psychological, relational, social and societal, as well as financial and political aspects. This manuscript, part of a PhD thesis which reflects on a possible dialogue between an ancient text and the modern conceptualization of disability, tries to address the phenomenological, historical and political dimensions of disability.

From small beginnings: the euthanasia of children with disabilities in Nazi Germany.

Although they are the lesser known Nazi atrocities, it is estimated that some 5000-8000 children with physical and intellectual disabilities were killed in Nazi Germany under a programme of euthanasia. Chronologically, they were a precedent, being the Nazis' first organised and systematic killing programme that would later enlarge to include adults with disabilities and ultimately, to the broader programme of racially motivated 'euthanasia' of the holocaust. The programme intimately involved medical staff, including a number of paediatricians, many of whom would go unpunished and continue to practice for many years after the war. This paper outlines the origins and development of the programme, examines how families were involved and affected and looks at what motivated the medical staff involved with the killing. The history of the Nazi child euthanasia programme has a number of important lessons for practicing doctors and health policy-makers in the 21st century.

The role of the Irish Division of the Royal Medico-Psychological Association in the development of intellectual disability nursing in Ireland.

The development of a specialist intellectual disability workforce in independent Ireland by the Royal Medico-Psychological Association was influenced by nursing regulatory bodies and Catholic religious orders, the latter of which provided lay residential education to people with intellectual disabilities. Although the RMPA shaped curriculum and examinations, practice scope, clinical assessment and practical skills were weighted more heavily towards bedside nursing, psychology and education due to the input of the religious orders and nursing board.