We're People First: The Social and Emotional Lives of Individuals with Mental Retardation

(Hardback)

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This work describes the course of social and emotional development in children and adults with mental retardation. Based on empirical research exploring the effect of cognitive delays and "socialisation for incompetence" on normal developmental milestones, the text is supplemented and enriched by the reflections of individuals with mental retardation. Castles begins with an overview of social and emotional development in intellectually normal persons and a discussion of how this process is affected by the experience of mental retardation. Subsequent chapters deal with changing relationships between persons with retardation and their families throughout their lifespans; friendships and social skills; self-esteem, coping skills, and stigmas; and major issues of adult life such as work, sexuality, marriage and parenthood. This book should be useful to educators, mental health professionals, vocational counsellors, and the families of persons with developmental disabilities.

Reviews

"This readable text fills a gap by providing sound empirical and clinical information on emotional functioning of individuals with mental retardation. It will be of use to professionals, direct care staff, and students in Psychology courses. With increasing participation of individuals with disabilities in community life, there is pressing need for their social and emotional concerns to be better understood by the people that they will encounter."- Kathy S. Katz, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Georgetown University Medical Center
"We're People First" fills a void--actually a chasm--in the literature on mental retardation. For most of this century, scientists have focused on the cognitive nature of mental retardation, overlooking how the condition affects real people who lead real lives. Castles awakens us to the fact that our technical knowledge tells only half the story. Her insights into the human side of mental retardation tell the very important other half and can greatly enrich the thinking of scholars, practitioners, and policymakers grappling with issues regarding individual differences in intelligence."-Edward Zigler, Ph.D. Sterling Professor of Psychology, Yale University

Author Bio

ELAINE E. CASTLES is a clinical psychologist with 20 years of experience providing mental health services to children and adults with mental retardation. In addition to doing psychological assessments and psychotherapy, she has consulted in special education classrooms, vocational programs, group homes, and mental health agencies.