NCJ Number
106599
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 29 Issue: 2 Dated: (April 1987) Pages: 184,186-187,188
Date Published
1987
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Normalization of mentally retarded offenders (MRO's) implies that positive social roles should be identified for them and that their corresponding role expectancies be extended programmatically.
Abstract
A normalization program should diagnose and evaluate adequately, offer training in attractive and challenging settings, encourage appropriate behavior and dress, match services and staff with needs, provide positive training and education, and positively reinforce progress. Normalization also implies that stigma be reduced and that MRO's have the opportunity to become as integrated as possible into the general prison population, and ultimately, into society. Because MRO's are both intellectually handicapped and vulnerable, normalization should be viewed as a goal rather than a treatment process or strategy, with gradual desegregation as the MRO increases in adaptability.