The denial of adolescence for people with mental handicaps: AN UNWITTING CONSPIRACY?

Abstract

This article addresses the issues concerning the experience of adolescence for young people with mental handicaps. A developmental model is presented, which states that various tasks need to be accomplished if they are to attain adult status.Evidence is put forward which suggests that, for the great majority of adolescents with mental handicaps, these tasks are never accomplished. It is hypothesised that there is an unwitting conspiracy on the part of carers, both parents and professionals, to thwart the accomplishment of these tasks: unwitting in as much as there is no conscious conspiracy, but a communication through postures, attitudes, and styles of interaction. It is suggested that reform of service provision is the first step towards a more developmentally appropriate adolescence for people with mental handicaps and greater opportunities for the attainment of adult status.