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The Principle Of The Least Restrictive Alternative For Mentally-Retarded Persons: The Constitutional Issues, David L. Chambers

Book Chapters

Mentally retarded people are people. When strong reasons exist to treat them differently from other people, they should be provided the necessary services, restraint, or protection through means that intrude as little as possible on their freedom to live the life that others are permitted to live. "Normalization" is the term professionals use to define the goal and the process of helping mentally retarded citizens lead a "normal" life. The attainment of this goal involves undoing the multitude of formal constrictions governments have typically placed on the retarded citizen's freedom: his place of residence, his schooling, his control over his …