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Nirje, B. Integrational Know-how: Swedish programs in social training. Paper presented at the Symposium on The Adolescent Retardate. First Congress of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Mental Deficiency, Montpellier, France, 12-20 September 1967. Published by the Israel Association for Rehabilitation of the Mentally Handicapped (AKIM). Pp. 5-8.

APPENDIX
THE NORMALIZATION PRINCIPLE IN SWEDISH LAW

The normalization principle has grown out of Scandinavian experiences in the field, both from mistakes and errors of the past as well as from planning and development of new and better programs. The new Swedish law on mental retardation, effective as of July 1, 1968, can be seen as an expression of the normalization principle. This "law about provisions and services for the mentally retarded," dated December 15, 1967, is printed in the Swedish Code of Statutes 1967 (Svensk Forfattningssamling) , No. 940, published on January 31, 1968. The law can be viewed as a Bill of Rights for the mentally retarded, being based on what their rights are believed to be. It provides for a wider range of services, and stresses that these services should be given to each retarded person according to his personal needs.

The new law is more comprehensive than the previous one of 1954, and covers a wider range of community services for the mentally retarded. It not only reflects developments which have actually taken place but also shows a new line of thought concerning what county councils mist do to bring about radically improved conditions. Some sections of the law are summarized, discussed, and interpreted below.

Section 1: "This law concerns those who, due to retardation in their mental development, need special care and services from the community for their education, training, and integration in the community."

If there is a need for the provisions listed in the law, there is also a right to receive them. Through this general wording, it is possible to provide borderline cases, for instance, former wrongly placed students of remedial classes for slow learners, in the regular school system with the services they may need.

Mental retardation is not necessarily seen as a life-long condition. If, for instance, it is possible for a person to manage without the care and services of the community after special school and training for daily living, this person is no longer considered mentally retarded.

The previous law dealt mainly with the institutions the county councils had to establish. The new law has sections on both residential services and nonresidential services such as education and training. These provisions do not exclude but are complementary to one another.

Section 4: "Residential institutions, special hospitals, day centers for children, and occupational centers shall be provided for the care of the mentally retarded, and there shall be special residential institutions for those mentally retarded who need care in residential institutions with special arrangements.

"Mentally retarded who need care according to this law, but who do not need care in an institution as referred to above in the first section, shall be provided with care in their own homes."

Thus, mentally retarded who live with their parents shall have access to day centers for children, or occupational centers for adults, with the care, training, and therapy being equal to the standards of good residential care institutions. The county councils have so far concentrated on various residential facilities, but a great deal has to be accomplished in Sweden in order to surpass, for instance, England in the matter of developing and extending nonresidential service facilities.

The right to be provided with services at home -- involving one or several persons who visit the home regularly to give care and provide training or occupational activities -- will, of course, serve as an additional spur to the county councils to invest in day centers and occupational centers.

Section 4 has been written so that parents, so far as possible, will be free to choose between different services and be able to decide on either care within or outside the home, according to the estimated needs of the mentally retarded and the family circumstances.

Section 5 contains one of the great new features of the law:

Section 5: "Accommodation in other private homes, boarding homes or student hostels shall be provided for those mentally retarded who cannot stay in their own homes but who do not need to live in a residential care institution or a special hospital."

Those who do not need to live in residential institutions should not. It is just as normal for an adult to live as independently as possible as it is for a child to live with his parents. Thus, society has to provide other accommodations as close to normal as possible. This rule is of special interest to older parents whose retarded children have grown up and can manage without too much supervision. In the future, there will be boarding homes not only for those working on the open market but also for those working in sheltered workshops or occupational centers who can manage without the more extensive care provided by a modern residential institution.