Welfare Reform on the Web (September 2009): Mental health services - overseas

'Some people are never going to be able to do that': challenges for people with intellectual disability in the 21st century

L. Dowse

Disability and Society, vol. 24, 2009, p. 571-584

This article presents an overview and analysis of how contemporary social, economic and political changes impact on people with intellectual disabilities. It looks at the impact of globalisation, neoliberalism, and the rolling back of the welfare state. Within the welfare state, people with intellectual disabilities are considered to be 'at risk', and are subject to technologies that seek to improve their chances of acting in ways that help them to manage their own risk. Neoliberal reforms of the welfare state have also led to service privatisation and marketisation, with people with intellectual disabilities being asked to make choices as consumers.