From ‘cage beds’ to inclusion: the long road for individuals with intellectual disability in the Czech Republic

Abstract

In the Czech Republic, individuals with intellectual disabilities continue to be institutionalized in large, remote, state‐run institutions and as a result are isolated from community interaction. Some practices associated with these institutions are coming to be seen as human rights violations. Although non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) offer alternatives to institutionalization, demand for such services exceeds supply. Czech legal structure hinders NGO funding. Large state institutions continue to be built.

Notes

1. The term ‘intellectual disability’ is used throughout this paper to refer to ‘a condition where people have significant difficulties in learning and understanding due to an incomplete development of intelligence. Their skills in areas such as cognition, language, motor and social abilities can be permanently impaired’ (Freyhoff et al., 2003, p. 12). In the Czech Republic, intellectual disabilities are often described as ‘mental disabilities’; individuals with such disabilities continue to be referred to as ‘mentally handicapped’ (see Note 4). These terms generally have replaced the term ‘mentally retarded’.

2. ‘Cage beds’ are beds that are fitted with a metal‐barred construction above the mattress, or a frame covered with netting, designed to enclose a person within their confines. Sometimes the former are referred to as ‘real’ cage beds. The aim of these beds is to prevent patients from hurting themselves or others.

3. As one reviewer pointed out, there is a critical difference between saying, ‘an individual with intellectual disability’ and ‘an individual categorized as having intellectual disability.’ Certainly, the authors recognize this. In this paper when we refer to individuals with intellectual disability we do so with the recognition that these individuals have been labeled or categorized, usually by the medical establishment, as such.

4. SPMP is an abbreviation of the name Sdruženi pro pomoc lidem s mentálním postižením, which means Association for Help to People with Mental Handicaps.