Wolfensberger argued that this dehumanization, and the segregated institutions that result from it, ignored the potential productive contributions that all people can make to society. He pushed for a shift in policy and practice that recognized the human needs of those with intellectual disability and provided the same basic human rights as for the rest of the population. The publication of this book may be regarded as the first move towards the widespread adoption of the social model of disability in regard to these types of disabilities, and was the impetus for the development of government strategies for desegregation. Successful lawsuits against governments and increasing awareness of human rights and self-advocacy also contributed to this process, resulting in the passing in the U.S. of the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act in 1980. From the 1960s to the present, most states have moved towards the elimination of segregated institutions. Normalization and deinstitutionalization are dominant. Along with the work of Wolfensberger and others including Gunnar and Rosemary Dybwad, a number of scandalous revelations around the horrific conditions within state institutions created public outrage that led to change to a more community-based method of providing services.By the mid-1970s, most governments had committed to de-institutionalization and had started preparing for the wholesale movement of people into the general community, in line with the principles of normalization.
Many of them were killed early in the childhood, and then dumped into the Tiber in order to avoid them burdening society. However, they were exempt from their crimes under Roman law, and they were also used to perform menial labor.Caliph Al-Walid (r. 705–715) built one of the first care homes for individuals with intellectual disabilities and built the first hospital which accommodated intellectually disabled individuals as part of its services. In addition, Al-Walid assigned each intellectually disabled individual a caregiver.Until the Enlightenment in Europe, care and asylum was provided by families and the church (in monasteries and other religious communities), focusing on the provision of basic physical needs such as food, shelter, and clothing. Negative stereotypes were prominent in social attitudes of the time. In the 13th century, England declared people with intellectual disabilities to be incapable of making decisions or managing their affairs. Guardianships were created to take over their financial affairs. In the 17th century, Thomas Willis provided the first description of intellectual disability as a disease. He believed that it was caused by structural problems in the brain. According to Willis, the anatomical problems could be either an inborn condition or acquired later in life. In the 18th and 19th centuries, housing and care moved away from families and towards an asylum model. People were placed by, or removed from, their families (usually in infancy) and housed in large professional institutions, many of which were self-sufficient through the labor of the residents.